Birth of the Cool
by Starkiller93
Summary: (In continuity with Hope and Responsibility) After breathing some strange gas as a result of an explosion in the Roxxon Chemical Research Facility, 17 year old Virgil Hawkins develops the ability to conduct electricity. With these newfound powers, he dedicates his life to protect the people of New York City from oncoming threats as the electrifying superhero known as Static.
1. Chapter 1

**_So, for those of you who just stumbled upon this story by accident, just so you won't get confused, even though this is a Static Shock fic, this story will be very different from the Static Shock cartoon. This story is actually a spin off to my Spider Man/Supergirl story "Hope and Responsibility" and I highly recommend reading the first twelve chapters of that story before jumping on here. Long story short, this is set in a universe where Spider Man exists in the DC Universe and he's dating Supergirl. Virgil lives in New York instead of Dakota and is attending Midtown High. Almost all of his supporting cast and rouges will be in this fic with the exception of certain characters like Richie and Frieda, since Bombshell from Brian Michael Bendis' Miles Morales/Spider Man comics will be taking the place of both of those characters as both his "sidekick" and confidant/love interest._**

Chapter 1

 **Hawkins Residence, Brooklyn NY**

Having slept all night, Virgil finally begins to stir. He sits up, rubs his eyes for a bit and motions himself out of bed. As he tries to climb out, he falls to the ground. He looks behind him and sees the bedsheets clinging to him. The dark haired boy gets up on his feet and the bedsheets were still clinging to him.

"Damn, static electricity," he says as he struggles to remove the sheets from him. He succeeds…only for the sheets to somehow cling towards him again. "Whoa, down boy," Virgil commands as he tries to get them off of him again. He once again was able to do so and he bolts out of his room and shuts the door.

"Don't shut the doors," a deep male voice says from down the stairs.

"Yes sir," Virgil responds.

The young boy takes a deep breath until something else caught his attention.

"Why do my lips taste like strawberries all of a sudden?"

He goes to the bathroom and reaches for the razor that was on the sink. Upon touching it, it activates. Virgil was confused by this because he didn't recall plugging it in and turning it on. Sure enough, he looks down at the cord…it wasn't plugged in.

Virgil was startled by this and drops the razor, "Pops razor. It's gone nuts."

However, he notices purple electric currents flowing through his body. As this is happening the lights in the bathroom are flickering. It took him a moment, but he finally realizes what's going on. The static cling, the razor, the lights…He's the cause of all of this.

"I'm a human fuse box," he exclaims.

* * *

 **Baumgartner Residence, Brooklyn, NY**

"Goddammit," Lana says as she walks towards the phone that is now ringing. After everything that happened last night, the brunette girl was hoping she could spend the rest of her Saturday morning in bed. She is clad in a simple pink tank top and black sleep shorts. Her chestnut brown hair is an unruly mess. After rubbing her eyes a bit, she finally picks up the phone.

"Hello?" she asks in an annoyed and tired voice.

"Lana?" a familiar male voice responds.

That made Lana wake up entirely, "Virgil? Oh, thank God you're alright."

"Girl you are gonna trip," says Virgil. "Meet me at the junkyard just north of where you are."

* * *

Lana, now wearing a simple black t-shirt, with a pink long sleeve shirt underneath, blue skinny jeans and dark converses, is now walking through the junkyard looking for her friend.

"A junkyard? Seriously Virgil? Why the hell would you want us to meet here?" she mutters to herself.

Suddenly she hears some rumbling. She looks behind her and sees a mountain of car parts now being lifted into the air.

"What. The. FUCK?" she says with a shocked expression.

"Damn girl, I hope you didn't kiss anybody with that potty mouth of yours," says a random voice.

Lana looks behind her to where the voice was coming from and sees Virgil standing on a car, wearing a yellow and red buttoned up t-shirt, jeans and white sneakers, with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face.

Lana sees all the metal orbiting around her friend and she looks dumbfounded, "Virgil? How…What…HUH?"

"That explosion at the Roxxon Chemical Research Facility," Virgil explains with a wide smile. "That gas that I breathed in when I went out there the rescue you…It changed me." He raises a hand and electric currents started to flow through it. "Here check this out." He then zaps the car he is standing on and the vehicle begins to hover in the air. Virgil is now surfing on the car. "So much for taking the bus to school. Ooh, and watch this." He then uses his electric powers to lift a steel bar from the ground and hurls it at a fence. The metal bar then starts to cling to the fence like it's being glued there. "Talk about your static cling."

"Virgil, this is incredible," Lana says with a look of awe, then she realized something. "Wait, did you say an explosion did this to you?"

The car Virgil is surfing on comes to a complete halt in midair, "Yeah, I think the place where you fought that Power Ranger was where they were keeping that Quantum Juice we read about in those computer files, and when I went out to try and get you to safety, I must have took a whiff of it."

Lana begins to lower her head in remorse, "Then…this was my fault. I'm the reason this happened to you. I'm…I'm so sorry."

Virgil's face also falls and he hops off the car to comfort his friend. He puts one hand on her shoulder and uses the other to lift her chin up so she can look at him, "Hey, it's okay. It's not like the gas did any real harm to me. I feel fine. Don't go beating yourself up over me, okay? I think what happened to me is pretty cool."

Lana looks at her friend for a bit and then smiles softly, "…Okay."

Virgil smiles back and the two continue to gaze at each other longingly until Virgil was the first to snap back to reality.

He clears his throat which made Lana snap out of it as well, "So, uh, now that you have powers, what are you gonna do now?"

The dark haired boy crosses his arms in thought, "Well, I thought about it. I figured, since you decided to become a superhero, why not I give it a shot as well? I mean, seeing you fight that armored guy by yourself and seeing what happened afterwards, I couldn't help but be worried about you. Maybe you could use some help y'know? This neighborhood is nowhere near as bad as Dakota, but it's still pretty bad."

The brunette girl blinks at Virgil's decision and deep down her heart begins to swell when he told her that he worries about her, thus showing how much he cares about her. With that she begins to smile, "Well, I COULD use some backup in case I get jumped by two super people again. But first, you're gonna need a costume."

* * *

Back at Virgil's house, Lana is sitting on Virgil's bed waiting for him to come out with a costume he had in mind.

"Okay, I'm ready," he says as he emerges from his closet with a black jumpsuit with lighting patterns all over it. He's wearing a facemask that covers the top half of his face, with sunglasses that covers his eyes and he's wearing black baseball cap with an "X" on it.

Lana takes one good look at his costume and bursts into laughter, "Oh my God, you look SO stupid."

Virgil frowns at his friend's reaction and then he looks in the mirror to see for himself what he was wearing. He then sucks his teeth in disappointment, "Man, I look like Soulja Boy trying to cosplay as Black Lightning."

That statement made Lana laugh even harder.

The electric metahuman looks at his friend and rolls his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

"I'm sorry," the brunette girl says as her laughter dies down and she wipes a tear from her eye. "Look, if it makes you feel better, how about I make you a costume? I know when I decided to become a superhero I had to make mine."

Virgil perks up a bit, "You'd do that for me?"

Lana gets up from the bed, walks over to Virgil and puts both hands on his shoulders, "You went out of your way to help me uncover the truth about my mom. Now it's my turn to do something for you." Then she smirks. "Besides, if you're gonna fight crime alongside me I don't want you cramping my style with these pajamas you're wearing."

Now it was Virgil's turn to smirk, "Oh is that how it is?"

"That's EXAXCTLY how it is," Lana chuckles.

"Alright, I'm counting on you. Just make sure it's something cool."

"Pfft, you've seen my costume right? It's the very definition of cool."

* * *

Hours later, they are now at Lana's house where the brunette girl is now sitting on her bed waiting for her friend to come out of the bathroom. It didn't long for her to actually make a costume for Virgil. All she had to do was get the right measurements and then put her grandmother's sewing machine to work. She also made a quick stop to a nearby discount clothing store, with money she had to borrow from said grandmother, and bought several additions to the costume.

"Are you done yet?" Lana asks. "I wanna see it too you know?"

Virgil chuckles from the bathroom in amusement, "Damn girl hold up, I just need to put on one more…There, I'm ready."

The dark haired boy finally emerges from the bathroom and Lana couldn't help but grin widely at what she's seeing.

Virgil is standing before her now with a long black and blue hooded jacket with some yellow on the inside of it and a pair of black gloves. Underneath it was a black sleeveless shirt with a yellow lightning bolt symbol on the front and a black sweatpants complete with black and yellow boots on his feet. On Virgil's face was a white domino mask with some blue goggles attached above it.

The electric metahuman looks at the expression on Lana's face, "Well you ain't laughing. That must be a good sign."

"Well, what are you waiting for? See for yourself."

Virgil chuckles again and he looks in the mirror. He now has a look of astonishment, "Yoooo, Lana this is DOPE."

The brunette girl blushes at her friend's compliment and brushes a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Well…I try."

"And you gave me a jacket just like your costume."

"Well, for you it would make the most sense. The jacket and gloves I bought from the discount store are actually waterproof."

Virgil looks over at Lana in confusion, "Waterproof?"

Lana shrugs, "Well, you have electric powers right? You know what happens to electricity when it gets exposed to water right? Suppose it rains when you're out superheroing? The jacket and gloves will help you prevent that from happening. Well…that and I think jackets are cool."

Virgil smiles, "You thought of everything haven't you? And you say you're not that smart."

Lana blushes again.

"So, I have my costume, now all I need is a name." Virgil thinks for a bit until… "I got it. How about "Lightning Lad"?"

Lana cringes at that, "First off all, that is a lame ass name. Second of all, I can't help but feel that that name is already taken."

"Okay, how about "High Voltage Man"

"Sounds like a mouthful."

"Kilowatt Kid?"

"Too generic."

"Alright then "Bombshell", if you're so good at coming up with superhero names why don't you think of something?"

With that Lana stares up at the ceiling in thought for a good few seconds until finally… "I got it."

* * *

"Well, what are you waiting for? Introduce yourself," Bombshell says, with an excited smile on her face, as she points her phone at Virgil.

"Is this really necessary?" Virgil asks with a raised eyebrow.

"You want to put your name out there right?"

"…Yeah?"

"Well, what better way to do it then to livestream your heroics for the world to see?"

"…This can't be how the other superheroes do it. I mean, I know tons of people in Metropolis who catch Steel in action put their videos on World Star but…"

Bombshell rolls her eyes, "Just introduce yourself."

"*sigh* Fine…*ahem*…Sup my peeps, the name's Static. I'm the new hero on the block. Bombshell here thought it would be a good idea to stream my heroics just to get the word out. Trust me, this whole fame and fortune stuff isn't my jam. I'm all about making the world a better place." "God that sounds so cornball…" Bombshell cuts in. Static rolls his eyes, "Ok look, livin' in New York is great and all, but it's not always how Jay-Z would describe it. There can be some pretty scummy people in this neighborhood, and somebody has to step up. I mean, yeah there's other heroes like Spider Man, Supergirl and the JSA, but sometimes they're not always there y'know? Sometimes they're busy fighting bigger threats. Someone has to be there for the little guy so why not have it be me? I know it's something someone really close to me would've done…"

Bombshell couldn't help but smile in admiration at that last statement because she knew he was talking about his late mother.

Suddenly the two teens hear police sirens. Static and Bombshell look down and see police cruisers heading in a certain direction.

Bombshell grins and she points the phone at herself, "Well folks, for those who wanted to see Static in action, you're about to have a front row seat."

* * *

"BACK OFF ALL OF YOU. I MEAN IT," Shocker yells at the police who had him cornered near the entrance of a bank.

"Lie down on the ground with your hands over your head or we WILL fire on you," a random police officer yells back.

"I'd like to see you try copper."

"Wow, "copper"? What is this, the 1930s?" asks a random youthful voice.

Shocker looks up in the direction it was coming from and sees Static hovering in the air, with his arms crossed and standing on what looks to be a trashcan lid.

"On top of that, why are you dressed like it's the 1970s? You look like you could be a member of the Bee Gees?"

Bombshell giggles at Static's remarks. She's recording everything on her phone from behind a parked car in the distance. She figures she'll let her friend handle this clown, and if there's any trouble, she'll jump right in.

As Static lands jumps off the trashcan lid and lands on the ground in front of Shocker, the gauntlet wearing villain takes a good look at who he's dealing with. "And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Static, I put a shock to your system."

"Okay, that was a cool line," Bombshell says quietly.

"Funny," says Shocker. "Shocking people is what I do, and you're about to witness it firsthand."

Shocker fires his gauntlets at Static…to which they have no effect.

The electric superhero just yawns and says, "Let me guess, those brass knuckles of yours are made out of electricity. You see this lighting bolt symbol on my chest? I eat electricity for breakfast. So the real question is, can you?"

Static then zaps at Shockers gauntlets, which short circuits them and electrocutes the criminal.

Shocker screams in pain and eventually falls over, losing consciousness.

The people who were witnessing the whole thing now begins to cheer the new hero in town. Bombshell then emerges from her hiding spot and approaches her friend.

"Everybody give it up for the new kid on the block, Static," she says, eliciting louder cheers.

"Yeah Static."

"We love you Static."

"Thanks for the help Static," a random police officer says as he arrests Shocker.

"Happy to help officer," Static replies with a smile. The electric metahuman then looks around at the people cheering him and he starts to smile widely. _"I can get used to this."_

* * *

Hours later, the two teens are now eating at Romita's Pizza celebrating a job well done. Lana is looking at her phone, checking the news feed.

"Oh my God, Virgil you're all over the news, and look, you're even trending."

Virgil look at his friend's phone, "Huh, #StaticShock."

"So, not bad for your first day huh?"

"I'll admit, being a superhero isn't too shabby. It's nice being able to help people, especially being a kid who came from a rough neighborhood…I know it's something my moms would've wanted."

Lana puts her hand over Virgil's for comfort, "I'm sure she would be proud of you."

Virgil smiles, "Yeah, maybe you're right." He then raises his cup of soda. "Here's to more superheroing."

"Hell yeah," Lana says as she raises her cup and gives Virgil a toast.

* * *

 **NYC Health + Hospitals, Brooklyn, NY**

"It's no good Doctor, they keep mutating," says a random nurse.

Two patients that are in hospital beds start to convulse and are now undergoing some bizarre changes. One patient was melting and turning into purple goo, and the other was having his skin turn purple with light purple spots all over him. These two men are of the many patients the doctors had taken in from last night. Oddly enough, almost all of these patients were in the vicinity of the Roxxon Chemical Research Facility where a huge explosion occurred. After hearing what went down in that organization on the news, the doctors could only guess that the explosion must have unleashed something that effected innocent bystanders.

"Sir, get in here, QUICK," another nurse yells out from a nearby room. "He's burning up."

The male doctor and the nurse who was with him rush into the room and finds a young teenage boy with red hair and yellow streaks convulsing on the hospital bed. His body starts smoking until suddenly, he stops. His eyes open and are now glowing yellow. The young boy gets up from the hospital bed and takes a good look at himself. His entire body is glowing like it's on fire and he starts to smile to himself.

"I don't know what the hell's happening to me, but I like it," he says.

He then creates an explosion that blew a hole in the wall. He then jumps out of the hospital and onto the street.

"Time for me to have a little fun," the boy says with a wicked smile on his face.

 _ **And that concludes the first chapter, but the story isn't over yet. Static may have had an easy time with Shocker, but now he has to face an even bigger challenge in the form of Hotstreak, as well as a few other Bang Babies in the near future.**_

 _ **For those who are curious, Static's costume will be his costume from Season 3/4 of the show. The costume he wore before Lana made him the costume he has on now was an homage to his costume from the original Milestone comics. Just Google Static #1 and you'll see what I mean.**_

 _ **Be sure to leave a comment regarding your thoughts on this new story.**_

 _ **Until next time...**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Here it is, the second chapter in Static's story._**

 ** _After making a name for himself by taking down the Shocker, Virgil now finds himself against a slightly tougher opponent in the form of Hotstreak..._**

Chapter 2

 **Freeman Community Center, Brooklyn, NY**

Lana looks at the building and takes a deep breath. There's a reason why she is here. Throughout most of her teenage life she used to aid her mother, Lori Baumgartner, on a series of robberies as the super crime duo known as the Bombshells. After a run-in with Supergirl, one of the world's newer heroes, Lana and her mother's latest heist ended up being a bust, and it resulted with her mother doing time while Lana on the other hand got off easy since she's technically a minor. The authorities had chalked up her criminal activity as "bad parental influence," and the young brunette was only sentenced with a year of community service. To help with her sentence, Lana's parole officer insisted she goes to the Freeman Community Center where they can give her a job. The former criminal enters the building and she approaches a blonde haired lady, who looks like she's in her mid-thirties, at the front desk.

"Excuse me," she says.

The woman at the desk stops what she was doing and looks up.

"Hi, I was told by my parole officer to come here because you guys were gonna help me with my community service. Frank Quaid is the name of my parole officer by the way."

The lady at the desk looks through her computer for a moment and sees a name pop up, "You're Lana Baumgartner right?"

Lana nods.

"Okay, just have a seat over there, and someone will be out to speak with you."

The young brunette sits down on one of the chairs near the entrance and waits for someone to show up.

A couple of minutes have passed and she hears a deep voice call out her name, "Lana Baumgartner?"

Lana perks up and sees a large African American man with glasses, short dark hair and a neatly trimmed mustache. He wears a grey sweater vest with a white dress shirt and a red tie underneath, complete with dark dress pants and dress shoes.

The man gives the former criminal a friendly smile, "Follow me."

The two approach a small office where the man sits down at his desk.

He makes a gesture to a chair in front of his desk, "Go ahead, take a seat. It's not gonna bite."

Lana softly smiles at the man's humor and sits down.

"So, I guess I can start by introducing myself," the man says as he takes out his hand. "I'm Robert Hawkins. I'm one of the people who run this place."

 _"Hawkins?"_ Lana thought as she shook Robert's hand. _"Could he be related to Virgil?"_

"Not very talkative are you?" Robert chuckles.

Lana also chuckles, "I guess I'm not really a people person. I've only been in school for about a couple of weeks and I only made one friend."

"You've been attending school. That's good. If you don't mind me asking what school do you go to?"

"Oh, um…Midtown High. It's in Queens."

"Ah, NOW I know who you are. You're one of Virgil's new friends."

Lana's eyes widened in realization, "Y…You're Virgil's dad."

Robert nods, "That I am, and you must be that cool girl from school my son keeps telling me about."

Lana blushes at that comment, "I…I take it he's mentioned me."

Robert chuckles again, "Almost all of our dinner conversations involve you being brought up from time to time. It would usually get on Sharon's nerves whenever she's there. You left quite an impact on that boy."

Lana's face is now beat red and she moves a lock of her hair behind her ear, "Yeah well, he sure left an impact on me."

"Wouldn't surprise me. I bet part of the reason why you're here right now is because of him."

The young brunette looks down at her lap and doesn't say anything, eliciting a small laugh from Virgil's father.

"There's no need to be ashamed, Virgil always likes to bring out the best in people. He gets that from his mother."

"I really am looking to turn over a new leaf Mr. Hawkins. I no longer want to be the person I once was."

"And I believe you," Robert says in a reassuring tone. "If my own son is willing to give you a chance, then so will I. You want to help people am I correct?"

Lana nods.

"Well, there's a homeless shelter just down the street that has a job opening. There you can do all kinds of tasks like handing out food, supplies, the works."

"Fine by me."

"Alright, I'll just give them a call and let them know you'll be coming there to work for them. You can start first thing tomorrow…when you're done with school of course."

Lana smiles, "Thanks Mr. Hawkins. I won't let you down."

Robert smiles back, "You're very welcome Lana, anything for a friend of my son's. By the way, my daughter will be coming over next Friday to have dinner with me and Virgil. You're welcome to come over and eat with us if you like."

"I'll be there," Lana says as she shakes Robert's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Hawkins."

* * *

Bombshell lands on a rooftop and sees Static sitting on the edge. His right hand, that's generating electricity, is stretched out and he is bobbing his head to "Buzzin by Mann". The brunette girl couldn't help but smile in amusement as she walks over and sits beside him.

"Yo Lana, check it. I'm a human MP3 player," Static says with excitement.

"I can see that," Bombshell says with a chuckle. "I take it you're getting a kick out of your new powers."

"Like you wouldn't believe. So how's your community service coming along?"

Bombshell bites her lip, "Well…I met your dad."

Static puts his hand down and looks at his friend in shock, "You did?"

The former criminal nods, "Apparently he runs the community center in this neighborhood. He gave me a job at a homeless shelter down the street, and he invited me over for dinner next Friday."

The electric metahuman nods but then looks back over to her in shock again, "He invited you over for dinner next Friday?"

Bombshell nods again.

Static groans, "Aw hell, that means Sharon's gonna be there."

"She's your sister right?"

"*sigh* Unfortunately."

Bombshell giggles, "I'm sure she not TOO bad."

"No, but she do be working on my nerves. Man, she's probably gonna try and embarrass me in front of you."

Bombshell now grins, "Ooh, does this mean I'm going to learn all of your deepest, darkest secrets?"

"God, I hope not. She's probably gonna bring her new boyfriend who she's living with too."

"Boyfriend?"

"Yeah, some music producer or something. I kinda feel bad for the guy, probably having to wake up every morning with her singing Alicia Keys songs in the bathroom…terribly I might add."

"…I like Alicia Keys," Bombshell mutters.

* * *

At a local convenience store, the store clerk, who's in his fifties, is counting the money in his register when he sees a young man with red and blonde hair walk inside. The boy walks over the aisle where the beverages are and takes out a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. He then proceeds to walk out without paying for it.

The clerk speaks up, "Um, excuse me young man, if you think you can just walk out of here without paying for that, you're mistaken."

The teen looks over his shoulder at the store clerk and smirks, "You want me to give you something for this drink. Fine, I'll give you something." He starts to form a fireball in his other hand, and the store clerk looks on in horror.

Static and Bombshell continue to sit on the rooftop when Static begins to pick up a radio signal from a random police scanner.

 _"There's an explosion at a convenience store in Park Avenue. A young Caucasian male with red hair and blonde streaks was seen coming out of it drinking a bottle of Yoo-Hoo. According to the clerk, the boy has powers as he can shoot fireballs from his hands. Proceed with caution, he could be extremely dangerous."_

The two teens look at each other.

"Duty calls," says Static.

* * *

The police had arrived and they had the flaming boy cornered.

"Lie down on the ground with your hands over your head," yells police captain Jean DeWolfe

"I've got a better idea," says the boy as he shoots a fireball at a police car, causing it to explode.

Some of the officers that were near the car managed to get out of the way in time.

"It's no good Captain," says a random male police officer. "There's no way we can stop this guy."

"We're not trying to stop him Ramirez," explains Captain DeWolfe. "We're just simply stalling."

Officer Ramirez raises an eyebrow, "For what?"

"Anybody else want a piece of me?" the fire boy rhetorically asks.

"Hey Smokey, how about taking ME on?" a random male voice responds.

The fire boy looks to his left and sees Static flying towards him on a trash can lid.

Captain DeWolfe sees this and smiles, "For more backup."

"Who the fuck…" the fire boy asks before he starts to shoot fireballs at Static to which the electric metahuman gracefully dodges them.

"So who are you supposed to be? The human furnace?" Static jokingly asks. "You can be very useful during the winter when someone has a busted up heater."

The fire boy growls, "The name's Hotstreak, and you're gonna wish you weren't talking shit about me."

Static uses his electricity to grab some small metal tools from a nearby construction site and he throws them at Hotstreak. The flaming metahuman shields himself from being bombarded by the tools and he was forced to drop his bottle of Yoo-Hoo, making it shatter on the ground. This made him even more angry.

"NOW YOU'VE PISSED ME OFF," Hotstreak yells as he uses both of his hands to propel himself from the ground and launches himself towards Static.

He grabs Static and they both plummet to the ground. Both metas get up and are now facing each other. Static's hands are electrified while Hostreak's are on fire, both of them in battle stances.

"Let's see how tough you are without your hoverboard," says Hotstreak.

Suddenly, the flaming metahuman gets hit with a random blast and was knocked to the side. Static looks over to where the blast was coming from and sees Bombshell with her fists glowing.

"So, you like blowing shit up huh?" the former criminal asks Hotstreak. "Let's see how you stand a chance against the master of that…sort of…thing…" Her eyes begin to widen in recognition. _"Wait, I know that guy."_

Unfortunately, Hotstreak noticed she stopped talking and smirks, "What's the matter sweet cheeks, can't handle the heat?"

"Maybe she can't take you seriously with that hair style you got going on," Static cuts in. "It looks like it's on fire. In fact, let me help you put it out."

He then zap a nearby fire hydrant that was right beside Hotstreak and water begins to spray out of it, dousing the flaming metahuman. This gave Bombshell the opportunity to nail the finishing blow. She uses her hands to propel herself towards Hotstreak and delivers a massive punch to his face, knocking him unconscious.

"Well, nice to know that even with your "hot" new upgrade you still go down like a bitch," Bombshell says as she looks down at Hotstreak.

"Daaamn," Static says as he appears beside his friend. "Laid out in one punch by a girl. All the other supervillains are never gonna let him live that down."

Bombshell chuckles at that.

The fire department finally show up and were able to douse Hotstreak even further to avoid him ever reigniting himself, and then the police begin to move in and arrest him.

Captain DeWolfe approaches the two young heroes who came to her aid, "So, you must be the new hero in town. Static right?"

"Yep, that's me," Static says proudly.

The police captain nods, "I appreciate your help in taking this guy down." She turns to Bombshell. "That was one helluva right hook."

The former criminal smiles proudly, "Thanks."

"You know, between you two and two other heroes I know, I'm beginning to wonder whether or not you guys are a little too young to be doing this. At the same time, I think I understand why you kids do what you do, and I know what you do is your decision to make. All I can say is, be careful, try not to get way in over your head okay?"

"We know the risks Officer," says Static. "Believe me, if we didn't, we wouldn't even be doing this, but if I back down now, then that means guys like Hotstreak here will think it's okay to terrorize people. Somebody's gotta step up and show em we ain't afraid y'know?"

Captain DeWolfe smiles, "Can't say I disagree."

* * *

As Static and Bombshell watch the sunset, enjoying the view of the Brooklyn Bridge, Static begins to ask, "So why did you freeze up when you confronted Hotstreak?"

Bombshell, who was enjoying the view of the city, looks over at her friend, "Hmm? Oh, well um…I've actually met that guy before."

"Ex-boyfriend?" the electric metahuman asks in a disappointed tone.

"What? Ew, no. I've seen him picking on a little kid a couple days ago. I was able to floor him even then. Though the fire powers are new."

"He must have been one of the people that were effected by "The Big Bang"."

Bombshell raises an eyebrow, "The Big Bang?"

"Yeah, that's what people all over the news are calling that explosion at the Roxxon Facility. Apparently I wasn't the only one that took a whiff of that gas. People by the hundreds were caught in the blast radius and were sent to hospitals because of it. Everyone in the neighborhood are calling them Bang Babies."

After hearing all of this Bombshell covers her face with her hands in shame, "This is all my fault."

"Hey," Static says as he removes his friend's hand from her face. "Don't be going all emo on me again. If there's anyone you should blame, blame me. It was my idea to go to that research facility in the first place, and how were we supposed to know that Reactron guy was gonna show up and mess with us? Believe me, this is just as much my screw up as it is yours. All we can do now is make up for it."

Bombshell sighs, and looks down at her lap, "…I don't blame you at all. In fact, I'm glad you decided to help me that night. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate how much you care about me. I've…never had someone go to great lengths for me before."

"And I've never met a girl who can kick ass and take names as well as you do," Static says with a grin.

Bombshell giggles, and then looks over at her friend with a soft smile, "You weren't so bad yourself "Static". I say you and I make a pretty good team."

"Straight up."

The two teens begin to gaze at each other for a moment and time froze for the both of them. After a few seconds of staring at each other, the two of them begin to lean into each other. They close their eyes and part their lips as they move closer and closer to each other

…until suddenly…

Static's cell phone starts ringing, playing, "You Can Get it All by Bow Wow."

Static and Bombshell both blush at the irony of the ring tone.

"I REALLY need to change that," Static says as he answers his cell phone. "Sup…Oh, hey Pops…I'm at Lana's doing some homework…Sure, I'm on my way." He hangs up. "I uh…I gotta head home. My Pops says it's getting late."

Bombshell smiles warmly, "Wouldn't want to get grounded after having an epic battle with a supervillain."

Static laughs, "Man, that would be SO whack." He gets up and starts to hover on his trash can lid. While in the air he looks back at Bombshell, who is still sitting on the edge of the rooftop. "So um…I'll see you at school tomorrow?" he asks while scratching the back of his head.

Bombshell giggles while brushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Cool." With that, Static begins to fly home.

Bombshell looks on with a dreamy look on her face.

* * *

 **Manhattan, NY**

A pale man in a dark business suit is sitting in his office looking at a newspaper article covering, "The Big Bang." Meanwhile, a shadowy figure looks on as the man reads comfortably in his seat.

"Interesting," says the pale man. He puts the newspaper down and looks at the shadowy figure. "And you say that because of this…incident…there are more people out there that are just like you?"

"Straight up," says the shadowy figure. "Even got a crew I'm setting up in Brooklyn and together, we gon' run that neighborhood. Nobody can touch us. Not even that "Spider Guy" that put you away a year ago."

"If the Sinister Six couldn't bring down Spider Man, what chance does you and your crew have?"

"I doubt the little punk can take down an entire neighborhood of guys like him. Look, I know you've been out of the game for a while Big Man, but if you let me and my crew roll with you, we'll help you take back this city."

Tombstone begins to ponder on this. He looks back at the shadowy figure, "Very well Mr. Evans. I'll let you work for me…on one condition."

"Name it."

"This new hero that is making the rounds. Static I believe is his name. He might become quite the hinderance to your plans. Especially if he's operating near Brooklyn. Bring him down and then we'll talk."

"Actually Big Man, I was hoping I can convince him to join our cause."

"…As long as he is out of the way, I don't care what you have to do. Just get it done Mr. Evans, and I'll even let you have all of Brooklyn once I take this city back."

The shadowy figure begins the smirk, "My man."

Tombstone gives a small nod.

With that, the figure disappears, leaving Tombstone to lean on his desk with his hands covering his mouth.

 _ **That's right folks, after getting his butt handed to him by Spider Man, Tombstone is looking to take back his city, and it looks like Static is about to have his hands full when Ebon and the Meta Breed run rampant in Brooklyn...as well as a special appearance from Cloak and Dagger. Stay tuned for the next chapter to see what happens next.**_

 _ **Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time...**_

* * *

 **Preview**

Static and Bombshell are doing their nightly patrol, having finished school for the day and Lana's first day on her new job.

"I wonder what Peter had to do that he couldn't have pizza with us," Bombshell comments.

Static shrugs, "Beats me, who knows what keeps him and Kara busy most of the time."

Bombshell also shrugs and then she sees something in the distance, "Uh, Virgil?"

"What?" Static asks as he looks to where his friend is looking.

The two young heroes see Spider Man and Supergirl being chased by an army of flying squid-like robots.

"The hell?" the electric metahuman asks.

"Come on," the former criminal suggests. "I think they might need our help."

Static nods, "Right, hop on."

The two hop on Static's trash can lid and fly towards the robots in an attempt to aid the other two heroes.

 **...To be continued in chapter 13 of Hope and Responsibility**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry for the delay, college work was holding me back, and I was writing chapters for two other fics at the same time.**_

 ** _In this chapter, Lana has dinner with Virgil's family. Meanwhile Cloak and Dagger stop a robbery and gets the attention of a certain metahuman._**

 ** _NOTE: This chapter takes place after chapter 13 of Hope and Responsibility, so I recommend reading that before coming here._**

Chapter 3

 **Brooklyn, NY**

"I don't know if I can do this," says Lana as she's walking to Virgil's house with her cell phone in her ear. "What if I leave a bad first impression?"

"You said you've met Virgil's dad right?" asked the voice of a young girl on the other line. "From what you told me, he seemed to have liked you then. What makes this any different?"

Last weekend, Robert Hawkins, Virgil's father, had invited Lana over for dinner on Friday night, and the young brunette has been nervous ever since. Meeting his dad was one thing, but his entire family was going to be challenge for her, especially since she's not really much of a people-person. Lana decided she needed some advice so she called up her new friend, Kara Danvers, who on her home planet of Krypton is also known as Kara Zor-El, but everyone else here on Earth know her as Supergirl. After saved her and Spider Man from an army of robots a few days ago, the two heroes revealed their identities to Bombshell and Static, since they had already figured out theirs. From there the four started to hang out, whether it's doing homework for their respective classes, or going out on nightly patrols. This also gave Lana the chance to get to know Kara more. After learning about what she had to go through prior to coming to Earth, she couldn't help but have sympathy for her. Here she was dealing with her own fears and insecurities, yet it's nothing compared to the kind of hell Kara had to endure. The two girls bonded and slowly started to become good friends, Lana even apologized to Kara for all the insults she spouted at her when the two of them were enemies, and even thanked her for setting her straight, to which Kara accepted her apology and decided to just let bygones be bygones.

"You know his dad is gonna start asking questions about me," says Lana.

"What kind of questions would he ask? He already knows about your criminal past…just not the part about you being a human TNT. Look, if anything, he's probably going to ask how you and Virgil met and how things have been going since you went straight. I know those were the kind of questions Peter's aunt asked me when she invited me over for dinner, of course I had to lie and say I was living with my cousin in law when she asked if I had any guardians. Look, just relax and be yourself…and try to keep the potty-mouth to a minimum."

Lana chuckles, "Yeah, yeah, you don't have to worry about that mom, I've been trying to ease up on that ever since I started living with my grandma. Okay, I'm at Virgil's house…Wish me luck."

"You got this, Lana. If you can survive Reactron, you can survive this. Let me know who well it turns out."

"I will…and thanks Kara." With that, she ends the call and knocks on the door.

* * *

Ty and Tandy are walking through the streets of Brooklyn, looking over a newspaper article from a few days ago. Ty is wearing a simple black, New York Mets jacket with a long grey shirt underneath, dark blue baggy pants and grey high tops. Tandy is wearing a blue denim jacket with a long rainbow colored shirt underneath, tight black pants and black boots complete with a grey beanie cap on her head. On the front page was an image of Static and Bombshell taking down Hotstreak.

"Yep, that's definitely Lana," says Tandy

"Yeah, but that brotha with the dreads," says Ty. "He's new."

"It says here that his name is Static, one of the newer heroes in town. He showed up not long after that big outbreak in the Roxxon Facility not far from here."

"You think he could be one of us?"

"Well, that gas did infect a lot of people in this neighborhood, it wouldn't surprise me."

"Man, to think there are now more and more people out there who are like us. They must really be trippin' about suddenly getting superpowers. I know WE did."

"I think the real question is, how many of them should we consider friends?"

Suddenly, three men ran between the two metahumans like they were in a hurry.

"A simple "excuse me" would have been nice," Tandy shouts after them.

They soon hear the sound of another male who emerges from a small store behind them, "Hey, somebody stop those guys. They stole from my store."

Ty and Tandy sees the three men go inside a nearby black car, and drive off.

Tandy looks at her boyfriend, "We have to stop them."

Ty nods in agreement.

* * *

Lana is now sitting at the dinner table with Virgil, his father and his sister, Sharon Hawkins.

As the four chow down on their supper Robert asks his daughter, "So, Adam won't be joining us tonight?"

"Afraid not," Sharon answers. "He hasn't been feeling well these past few days, had to call in sick on multiple occasions…I'm starting to get worried."

"Maybe all those times hearing you sing every morning are finally starting to take its toll on him," Virgil comments as he eats his steak.

Sharon scowls, "Boy, don't make me come across that table."

"Settle down you two," says Robert. "We have a guest here. So Lana…"

 _"Oh God, here we go,"_ the brunette thought.

"How did you and Virgil meet?"

After taking a mental sigh of relief she says, "Well, he saw me struggling with my math homework during lunch and offered to help me. He also told me that he would help me study so I won't have to worry about failing. I'm very grateful that he came to my rescue when he did. I don't know if I would ever survive Calculus."

Virgil blushes at this.

"I wouldn't compliment him to much Lana," Sharon says with a smug grin. "Virgil may have a big brain but he also got the ego to match."

The electric metahuman now scowls at this sister.

"How are things going with your new job?" Robert now asks.

"Oh, well, they had me cafeteria duty, as well as cleaning some rooms. The people there are very nice…they also know how to keep me busy too."

The entire Hawkins family all laugh.

"Well I'm glad things are working out. If only this neighborhood had more people like you. I swear, this place just keep getting worse and worse, and that explosion in the Roxxon facility didn't help matters either, because now we have these "Bang Babies" running around causing trouble."

"From what I hear, you guys have a new local hero running around and stopping them. Static and…whatever that girl's name is," says Sharon.

Lana groans in her head and lowers her head in shame.

"But how do we know they're not one of them?" asks Robert.

"Well if they are, they seem to be one of the good ones."

Virgil and Lana both smile at Sharon sticking up for their alter egos.

"Just a few days ago, they were fighting robots alongside Spider Man and Supergirl," the eldest Hawkins sibling continues.

"Yeah, and they also caused thousands of dollars-worth of property damage…and don't even get me started on Spider Man."

"Oh come on, don't tell me you believe what the Bugle says about him."

"*sigh* Look, all I'm saying is that we can't be too careful when it comes to these superheroes. What would happen if they were to go off the rails? Who would stop them?"

While Robert and Sharon are conversing, Virgil noticed someone holding his hand under the table. He looks over and sees Lana with a reassuring smile on her face, silently telling him that nothing like that would ever happen to either of them, that they're better than that.

After dinner, Virgil is in the kitchen helping his father clean the table while Lana and Sharon sit on the living room couch. A

fter some awkward silence, the elder Hawkins sibling looks over at the younger girl and says, "Alright girl, spill. What's REALLY going on between you and Virgil?"

Lana's eyes widened and blushes as she looks over at Sharon, "W…What do you mean?"

Sharon smirks, "Don't think I haven't noticed you stealing glances at him at the dinner table. Not to mention the two of you were sitting awfully close together. Virgil keeps telling me the two of you are just friends, but I'm starting to think he's bullshitting."

Lana looks away and brushes a lock of her hair behind her ear, "*sigh* It's…complicated."

"You tried to make a move didn't you?"

The younger girl bites her lip, "…We…almost kissed a few days ago."

Sharon grins widely, "And what's stopping attempt #2? Wait, let me guess, you're not sure if he feels the same way."

Lana scoffs, "What, are you gonna tell me that you've been in a similar situation?"

"Lana, EVERY girl your age has dealt with the same problem, and the solution is simple. Just tell him how you feel."

"Oh, of course. Never mind the possibility that he might reject me."

Sharon gives her a deadpan look, "Virgil is not gonna reject you honey. You should've seen him the last time I was here. I swear every conversation with him involves you to some capacity. He goes on and on about how cool you are and how you don't take shit from anybody. You left quite an impact on him. Trust me girl, that boy is CRAZY about you."

Lana looks over at Sharon, "You think so?"

"He's my brother, I know him like the back of my hand."

The younger girl sighs, "Okay…I'll talk to him."

The older Hawkins sibling puts a hand on Lana's shoulder and give her a small nudge, "That's the spirit, I'll be rooting for you."

After some silence, she then looks back over at Lana with a scowl and says, "Oh, and you better not do anything to hurt him, or I'm coming for your little ass."

Lana, clearly surprised by the sudden threat, nods and says, "Y…You have my word."

Sharon's smile returns, "Good."

* * *

Back in the streets of Brooklyn the crooks who robbed that small store are now speeding off in their car. One of the crooks in the back is drinking a chocolate milk while the guy next to him looks inside the bag and stares at the amount of cash they have.

"Man, this was too easy," he says with a wide grin.

"Yeah, and not a single cape in sight," says the crook who is driving.

Suddenly a light dagger hits one of their tires and the car starts to swerve.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the driver says as he tries to regain control of his car. He ultimately fails and finds himself careening into nearby light post. The criminals get out of the car and make a break for the alley.

"You just HAD to jinx us didn't you?" One of them asked the driver as they were running.

The three men eventually find themselves at a dead end. They turn around to run the other way, only to see Cloak standing in their way and towering over them.

"What the fuck?" one of the crooks rhetorically asked.

"WASTE HIM," shouted the other, as all three men took out their guns and started shooting at the metahuman.

Unfortunately their bullets had no effect, as they were being absorbed by Cloak's cloak.

Cloak proceeds to lunge at the men and only screams could be heard.

Moments later, both Cloak and Dagger look down at the unconscious men, clearly proud of their accomplishment.

"Did you see how I cornered those guys?" asks Cloak. "Pretty sweet huh? Eat your heart out Batman."

Dagger chuckles, "Alright "Dark Knight" let's get outta here. I can hear the police sirens."

Cloak nods and the two metas teleport from the scene via Cloak's cloak.

Meanwhile, up on the rooftop, Ebon was watching the whole thing. He begins to smirk at what he just saw, "I think I just found some new recruits."

 _ **Looks, like Ebon has is eyes on Cloak and Dagger, and is looking to have them join his meta-breed. Will they except his offer? Find out next time.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**I know some of you are waiting for me to update Hope and Responsibility. Be patient, once this is chapter is out, I will already be working on it. I kinda wanted to get this out if the way first since the next chapter of H &R takes place right after the events of this chapter. With that said, here is the moment you've all been waiting for: Static finally meets Ebon and the Metabreed...and this is where the crossover with Spider Man starts to kick in.**_

Chapter 4

 **Brooklyn, NY**

Cloak and Dagger look down from a rooftop as dozens of police officers begin to arrest all the criminals in the vicinity. There was a gang war that occurred not too long ago, and the two young metahumans wanted to put a stop to it before innocent bystanders get hurt.

Cloak looks over at Dagger and says, "So much for our night out."

Dagger sighs, "For once I would like to go one evening without all hell breaking loose."

"Those were some sick moves you kids pulled down there," says a random deep voice.

The two metas look behind them and see a shadowy figure emerge from a nearby wall.

"Wh…who are you?" Cloak asks.

"The name's Ebon," answers the shadowy man. "I've been watching you two for a while now."

"Uh…stalker much?" says Dagger.

Ebon shrugs, "Well, seeing what you can do, I couldn't help but be curious. So, about these superpowers you got, let me guess, you got it from some kind of gas."

Cloak and Dagger both look at each other. They look back at Ebon and Cloak says, "You're one of the people who were caught in that explosion the other night."

"Yeah, some folks in the hood are calling it "the big bang", and guys like me, we're called bang babies."

"Bang-babies?" Dagger asks with a raised eyebrow.

"I think that sounds cool," says Cloak.

"You would think that," Dagger says back and then she looks back at Ebon. "Okay, so you know who we are, what do you want from us?"

"I'm organizing a crew, I was wondering if you kids can join."

"What kind of crew?" asks Cloak.

"A group of people just like us. People who can do all kinds of crazy shit and want to be accepted in this community, people who want to make a difference. You two are all about that right? So I'll ask again, you want in?"

The two young metas look at each other again and they silently agreed to talk about this amongst themselves first.

Dagger looks back at Ebon, "Can you give us a moment? We need to discuss this privately."

Ebon shrugs, "Hey, it's cool, there's something I've been meaning to do anyway. If you ever make up your minds meet me on top of the building across from the local mall at noon, two days from now. Me and the others have something big planned."

The shadowy man begins to phase through the wall he emerged from…and he was gone.

Cloak looks at Dagger, "So what are you thinking?"

"Ty, did you hear what that guy said? He said there are people out there who are like us, people who were given powers they didn't ask for, yet still want to help for the greater good," Dagger says with excitement with her voice.

Cloak just shakes his head, "That brotha talk a big game, but there's something about him that rubs me the wrong way."

Dagger now looks confused, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, I've met guys like him before. They say they want to do some good, but sometimes what they're selling ain't all that's cracked up to be. That guy is the textbook definition of shady."

Dagger nods in understanding, "So what you're saying is, we should probably watch this guy like a hawk."

Now it was Cloak's turn to nod, "Just until we know what his true intentions are."

* * *

The following evening, Static is sitting on a rooftop listening in to police scanners for any potential alerts, while Bombshell sits beside him looking out into the distance.

"It's been pretty peaceful tonight," the electric meta comments. "You think Peter and Kara might have better luck?"

The brunette girl looks over at her friend, "Hm? Oh, uh, maybe."

Static looks over at Bombshell in confusion, "You okay? You've been spacing out since this morning."

Bombshell blinks for a moment then sighs, "Sorry, it's just…I've been thinking about that conversation we had after we beat Hotstreak. You know, before you dad called."

"What, don't tell me you're still beating yourself over the Big Bang. Like I said befoe, it was my idea to go to that Roxxon facility in the first place, so I share part of the blame."

"No, I know that, and like I said, I don't blame you, I mean what happened AFTER we had that talk…or…what was about to happen…"

That's when it dawned on Static. After their little heart to heart, there was some awkward silence and the two teens were staring at each other for what seemed like an eternity. The next thing the electric meta knew, was that he and Bombshell started leaning into each other…then his dad called. It all happened so fast, and yet Static knew exactly what was about to happen had his father not call. He and Bombshell were about to kiss. They were about to take a bold step in their friendship that was very make it or break it, and the funny thing is…Virgil have been wanting to take that bold step ever since he first laid eyes on Lana. From the moment she first walked into his Calculus class, he thought she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, with her long chestnut brown hair and warm brown eyes. Then he started to hang out with her and got to know her more, and he began to fall for her feisty attitude, her laugh, her smile. There was something about her that made her completely unique from most girls, at least in his eyes. Now it has gotten to a point where he is pining for her, and from the looks of it, it looks like Lana is pining for him too.

"Lana I…" Static begins to speak but was interrupted by his cell phone yet again. This time it was playing Hero by Nas. The electric superhero groans, _"I REALLY need to put this thing on silent."_

Bombshell giggles, "I see you changed your ringtone. You should keep that one, it's fitting."

Static just smiles and answers the phone, "Sup?"

"Virgil," says the voice of a young male. "It's Peter, are you busy at the moment?"

"No, Lana and I are just chillin', why?"

"You may want to meet me at the police station. I got a call from Detective Spivot with some REALLY bad news…"

* * *

 **NYPD, Manhattan NY**

Static and Bombshell arrive at the rooftop of the police station, where Spider Man, Supergirl and Patty Spivot were waiting for them.

The wall crawler begins with introductions, "Patty, this is Static and Bombshell, the new heroes on the block. Static, Bombshell, this is Patty Spivot, she's the CSI here…and also a friend."

Patty proceeds to shake the two new heroes' hands, "I heard you guys have been keeping the streets of Brooklyn safe. Captain DeWolfe put out a very good word about you two."

After Static shook Patty's hand, he asks, "So what's going on?"

Patty and Spider Man both look at each other and then Patty looks back at Static, "Remember that fire guy you helped take down roughly a week ago? He escaped."

"Oh God, please tell me he didn't barbecue anyone on the way out," Bombshell says with a worried look.

"Don't worry, nobody was hurt. When one of the guards went to check on him in his cell, he was just gone, almost like he teleported out."

"That means someone must've broken him out," says Static. "The question is who?"

"Well in any case, I called you so I can give you a heads up," says Spider Man. "But Supergirl and I will be on the lookout for him as well. Right Supergirl?"

Supergirl was looking to the side with her arms crossed, a somber look plastered on her face.

"Supergirl?" Spider Man asks again. "Are you okay?"

The young Kryptonian looks over at her boyfriend, "Wha…Oh, yeah, yeah I'm fine."

Static looks at her with suspicion. This wasn't the first time Kara had been acting weird. He still remembers that panic attack she had week's prior. He wonders if this was somehow related to that. **(A/N)**

* * *

 **Local Brooklyn Strip Mall**

Ebon looks down at the strip mall down below. He then turns around and looks at the five young metahumans that are standing behind him. Among them was Hotstreak, a female human/bird hybrid, a male with short purple hair, a red jacket with a white shirt underneath, red pants and red shoes, a female with a black and white face, white hair and a black and white jumpsuit and a male human/armadillo hybrid. The remaining four metas were Talon, Shiv, Silver Banshee and Carmen Dillo respectively.

Ebon looks around and notices that Cloak and Dagger were nowhere to be seen, "Hmm, guess we're gonna have to start the party without them. Alright guys and gals, I think it's high time that we make ourselves known to the public. Let's show these fools who REALLY runs this neighborhood."

Inside the mall, everyone is minding their own business and going about their daily lives…At least they were until Ebon and his group of metahumans appear from out of nowhere and start to wreak havoc throughout the strip mall. Hostreak throws fires balls left and right, Talon and Silver Banshee shatter some windows with their sonic screams, Carmen Dillo is eating food in the food court and Shiv is simply hanging out in the arcade playing some of the games in there.

As Ebon continues to watch his team of superpowered misfits run rampant, he hears a young female voice speak to him from behind, "So this is your idea of making a difference?"

He looks behind him and sees Cloak and Dagger with unhappy looks on their faces.

"Nice of you kids to show up," says the shadowy metahuman. "You can join in on the fun if you like."

Cloak starts to look around, "Yeah man, this isn't what I would call fun. You're terrorizing innocent people."

"What, don't tell me you actually care about these people?"

"Do I want these people to accept people like you and me? Sure, but fear is the wrong way to go about it. My grandma always told me that respect is something that needs to be earned."

Ebon nods in understanding, "I take it that's a yes then…Alright, you two wanna be Superman? Fine, ya'll gonna die like him too…and there AIN'T gonna be a resurrection. Meta-Breed, waste these suckas."

The five young metas stop what they were doing and they all begin to crowd around Cloak and Dagger. The two metahumans get into a battle stance, preparing themselves for the fight of their lives.

"Two against six? That doesn't seem fair," says a random male voice. "What do you think Static?"

The Meta-Breed turn around and sees Spider Man hanging upside down from a web-line while Supergirl and Static are hovering in the air. Bombshell is clinging onto Static while standing on his trashcan lid hoverboard.

"I think we should even the odds," Static answers.

Ebon growls then says, "WASTE ALL THEM MOTHAFUCKAS."

The Meta-Breed and the heroes engage each other.

Shiv creates a purple light construct of a blade and swipes at Spider Man. The wall crawler effortlessly dodges.

"Hey buddy, Star Sapphire called, she wants her powers back," Spider Man quips.

This angers the purple haired meta even further and he turns his blade into a hammer, continuing to swipe at Spider Man.

"Oh great, first Sandman now you. What is it with supervillains and their fixation on hammers?" the spider hero quips again. "Luckily, I've got some old tricks of my own."

He then proceeds to shoot webbing at Shiv's eyes, blinding him, and then he finishes him off with a simple punch and kick combo.

"Haha, what's with the dark getup?" asks Carmen Dillo. "What are you, some discount Batman or something?"

"This coming from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Armadillo," Cloak says back.

This angers the human/animal hybrid, he rolls into a ball and charges at Cloak.

The other metahuman smirks at this and opens up his cloak sucking Carmen Dillo in.

* * *

Outside of the strip mall, Detective Ellen Yin emerges from her police cruiser and meets up with a bunch of other police officers and the SWAT team as they escort the people out of the strip mall.

She turns to Captain Jean DeWolfe, "What do you want us to do captain?"

Before the police captain could say anything, Carmen Dillo drops from the sky and lands on Yin's police cruiser.

"Wh…WHAT THE HELL?" she angrily asks.

Captain DeWolfe just shrugs, "I guess we can start by arresting this freakshow."

* * *

Hotstreak throws fireballs at Dagger, to which the glowing meta gracefully dodges. She then proceeds to throw a light Dagger at Hotstreak and it misses.

"Ha, THAT'S your power?" the flaming metahuman mocks. "You throw little knives?"

"Wait for it," Dagger says with a smirk.

The light dagger that misses Hotstreak turns back around and it stabs him in the leg, making him scream in pain.

"AAAH, YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT YOU BI…Whoa, I don't feel so good."

Hotstreak starts to get woozy until he eventually falls to the ground, losing consciousness. The light dagger then disappears.

Meanwhile, Static is chasing Talon in the sky. The electric meta shoots a couple of bolts at the human/bird hybrid, to which she gracefully dodges.

"You're gonna have to do better than that Sparky," she remarks.

"I'm not trying to hit you Big Bird," says Static. "I'm trying to distract you."

Talon starts to look confused until suddenly she flies into a thick wall of ice, courtesy of Supergirl's freeze breath. Static proceeds to catch Talon as she falls and they both land on the ground safely.

He puts the human/bird hybrid over his shoulder and gives the Girl of Steel a thumbs up, "Way to let it go Elsa."

Supergirl just smiles proudly.

The two heroes were then bombarded by Silver Banshee's sonic scream.

Static and Supergirl cover their ears and wince in pain, until the black and white meta was blown away by a shockwave from Bombshell.

"I hope you don't try to pursue a singing career," says the brunette girl. "Mariah Carey you are not."

Supergirl was the first to recover, "Thanks."

Bombshell nods, "We still have one more baddie to deal with." All of the heroes now confront Ebon.

"You just HAD to go and ruin it didn't you?" He asks Cloak and Dagger. "We could've ruled this neighborhood, maybe even the entire city."

"Yeah, well, Dagger and I are perfectly fine with this neighborhood being the way it is," says Cloak.

"And we're gonna make sure creeps like you aren't running it," says Dagger.

"So you must be the head Bang Baby of this little group," says Static. "And I'm also gonna take a wild guess and say you must've been the one who busted out Hotstreak."

Ebon looks over at Static, "Ya damn right, and you must be the new hero in town. To think I was about to ask you to join my Meta Breed."

"It's a good thing you didn't, otherwise I would've sent your pitch black ass to jail much sooner, and what's this about "ruling this neighborhood?" Look dawg if you wanted to make a statement and start some kind of movement, just do what Dr. Dre did and pursue a gangsta rap career."

"You better watch your back "hero", you just made the top of my shit list." Ebon then looks over at Spider Man. "And you better watch your back too. The Big Man didn't appreciate you taking his city away from him. He's been looking to get back at you ever since. He's coming for your wall crawling ass when you least expect it."

With that, Ebon phases through the floor. Supergirl tries to pursue him, but he was already gone.

* * *

The heroes watch the police and SWAT apprehend the remaining metas from below. Cloak and Dagger turn to the other four teens.

"It's a good thing you guys showed up with you did," says Dagger. "I thought Ty and I were toast for sure."

"Nothing bad will ever happen to you guys on our watch," says Supergirl.

Cloak turns to Static, "So you're Static huh? Nice to finally meet Brooklyn's local hero."

"And you guys must be Cloak and Dagger," Static says as he shakes Cloak's hand. "I heard you and Bombshell got off on the wrong foot."

Cloak nervously rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, it was a huge misunderstanding. Still, your girl put up one hell of a fight."

Static's eyes widened when Cloak called Bombshell "his girl". He looks over at the brunette girl, whose face is beet red, "Um…*ahem* So, uh, this Ebon guy. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of him."

Spider Man looks down and narrows his eyes, "Yeah, and it looks like Tombstone is up to no good again. I guess with Captain Stacy gone the police are no longer breathing down his neck."

"Well, if either of them ever show their faces again, we'll be ready," says Supergirl. Everyone else nod in agreement.

* * *

After everyone says their goodbyes, Static and Bombshell finally have some time to themselves.

The electric superhero was the first to speak, "Well that was…eventful."

The former criminal chuckles, "Yeah."

The two teens are now staring at each other.

There was some awkward silence until Static speaks again, "So uh, a couple days ago you were talking about the conversation we had. You know…the one that my dad interrupted."

Bombshell begins to blush, "Oh, that. Yeah it's just that…You and I have been hanging out quite a lot. We've gotten to know each other really well and became really good friends. We have each other's backs and we really care about each other…more often than any normal friend should."

"…Yeah you could say that."

"So…I was wondering…maybe be you and could…I mean we should probably…*sigh* fuck it."

Bombshell then proceeds to grab Static by his jacket, pulls him close to her and presses her lips onto his. The electric metahuman was caught by surprise at the sudden action, but then he closes his eyes and returns the kiss. While they are kissing, he says in his head,

 _"Well, that explains the strawberry taste."_ After a few seconds the two teens break apart, both of them panting.

After several seconds of silence Static chuckles, "Damn girl, I hope you didn't kiss anybody else with that potty mouth of yours."

Bombshell shakes her head, "You're the only one in the universe who deserves this mouth. Now shut the fuck up and keep kissing me you asshole."

She then yanks Static back to her and the two start kissing again.

* * *

 **OSCORP**

Alistair Smythe is in his lab pacing back and forth, a look of anxiety plastered on his face. The door opens and two doctors, along with Harry Osborn, walk inside with a stretcher that has Silver Banshee laying on it.

"My God," Smythe says in a devastated tone.

"She was under lock and key at Rikers," says Harry. "Had to bail her out first."

Smythe walks over to the unconscious young metahuman. He caresses her face and then lowers his head in shame. "I need to be alone now," he says in a defeated tone.

Harry nods and he motions his employees out the door.

Once they were gone Silver Banshee begins to wake, "D…Dad?"

Smythe pipes up, "Siobhan, sweetheart."

"W…Where am I?"

"At OSCORP. You were sent to Rikers and Mr. Osborn had to bail you out. My beautiful baby girl, what happened to you?"

"I…I was walking home from a friend's house after studying with her. There was this explosion and when I woke up…Oh dad, I didn't want you to see me like this *sobs*"

"Oh, sweetie," Smythe says, with tears in his eyes, as he tries to comfort his daughter. "Despite the change in appearance, you are still my little girl. I will do everything in my power to fix you, I promise."

"*Sniff* I love you dad."

"I love you too."

 _ **(A/N) For those of you waiting for the next update to Hope and Responsibility, let this be a small hint as to what the next arc is going to be...**_

 ** _On that note, this chapter comes to a close._**

 ** _I know, making Silver Banshee Alistair Smythe's daughter is very on the nose, but I couldn't resist, and yes, she will show up at some point in Hope and Responsibility and cause some trouble for both Spider Man and Supergirl, so be on the lookout for her._**

 ** _Static has finally met Cloak and Dagger, believe me you are going to see them a lot in both stories. In fact, they might show up to help Spidey and Supergirl in the next arc of H &R._**

 ** _Now that Virgil and Lana have finally admit their feelings for each other, what's next for them? You'll have to find out in the chapters to come._**

 ** _Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time..._**


	5. Chapter 5

_**I'm a man of my word, I said I would update this story, and I did. As for why it took so long, I got sidetracked with other stuff. This chapter introduces another one of Static's rogues. I made references to him in earlier chapters, but now he finally makes his appearance.**_

Chapter 5

 **Brooklyn, NY: The night of the Big Bang**

Inside a small room of a recording studio, Adam Evans is at work producing a brand new song. Right now he is listening to a single he helped record with Sevyn Streeter called, "Before I do." Adam was able to find some success collaborating with various well known artists, and most of the songs he helped produce would make it on the top ten of the billboard charts. Of course, there were times where his work would be rejected, but that's the nature of show business. After spending hours listening to the new song, Adam decides to call it a night and begins to close up shop.

As he locks the doors, a voice calls out to him, "Look at my bro, hard at work."

Adam turns around and sees that it's none other than his brother, Ivan.

"Let me guess, you and Bruno still trying to bring old school back."

Adam glares at his brother, "Man what do you want?"

"Just passing by, I saw you coming out and I wanted to say hi."

"Well, you got what you came for, now leave. Don't you have a 7-Eleven to go jack?"

"Funny, you won't be laughing when I become the next "Big Man of Crime"."

"Uh-huh sure, you keep dreaming about getting your ass whooped by Spider-Man and being thrown in Rikers…again, and I'll keep making a name for myself the legit way."

As Adam walks away, Ivan says, "Yeah, you got it all don't you bro? Getting to hang out with all the big musical artists, a nice apartment, a fine ass girlfriend. I've seen you with her by the way. When you gonna introduce me to her?"

Adam turns around and grabs his brother by the vest, "I'm not letting you anywhere near her."

Ivan backs away and raises his hands up in defense, "Relax homes, I was just asking. Anyway, I gotta bounce, have some important business that needs to be taken care of. See ya around bro."

With that, Ivan walks away with a smug smirk on his face.

Adam continues to glare at his gangbanging brother and he too walks away.

As he is heading towards a nearby subway station to Manhattan, the music producer hears what sounds like an explosion. He looks over to where the explosion could possibly come from and he sees a cloud of smoke emerging from where the Roxxon Research Facility is located.

"The hell?"

But before Adam could question the situation even further, he begins to cough excessively. The music producer then begins to feel strange, he was starting to feel dizzy, his lungs are beginning to feel like they're on fire. And finally…for some odd reason…he begins to faint.

* * *

 **ESU Science Lab, Manhattan NY (Two weeks later)**

"So you and Lana are finally an item huh? Bout time," Peter says with a smirk on his face as he's feeding the eels in the tank.

Virgil, who was arranging test tubes, just chuckles nervously and rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, well, I kinda had a thing for her for quite a while now, she just so happened to have made the first move."

"Well one of you had to. I swear all that sexual tension between you two, you can cut with even a butter knife. Anyway, now I know you won't be dateless once the fall formal rolls around, that or I would've tried to hook you up with MJ."

"Nah, she's fine and all, but something tells me she's not one for commitment."

"Yeah, you're probably right. She was my date at last year's fall formal, but after that we agreed to just stay friends."

"Well, I know you and Kara are gonna have a good time. You think this is her first ever school dance?"

"That's a good question." Peter looks over at his girlfriend, "Hey Kara, did you ever have high school dances…where you're from?" He had to say that last part very carefully since Curt and Martha are in the room.

Kara, who is nonchalantly sweeping the floor wasn't paying attention. She looks like she's in another world.

"Kara?" Peter asks as he walks over to his girlfriend.

As he touches her on the shoulder, the young Kryptonian gets startled and turns around to face her boyfriend, breaking the broom in half in the process.

"Whoa, Kara, easy," Peter says in a shocked, but reassuring tone. "You were spacing out…for the fifth time this week."

Kara looks down at the broken broom. She then gives Curt and Martha an apologetic look.

"It's okay Kara," Curt says in a reassuring tone.

Martha walks over and takes the broken broom from the blonde's hands, "We have plenty more brooms where that came from. Why don't you take a break for a bit sweetie? You must have a lot going on."

* * *

 _"Man, I hope Kara's okay,"_ Virgil thought as he walks through the hall towards the building's exit. _"This wasn't the first time she spaced out_ _**(A/N)**_ _. Peter told me about how Darkseid kidnapped and brainwashed her that one time. Maybe it's still haunting her even now. Well, she's with Pete now, I'm sure he'll find a way to help her."_

Suddenly, Virgil's phone begins to vibrate. He pulls it out of his pocket and sees that it's a message from Lana.

 **Lana: Hey baby, I got off work early. You still at ESU?**

Virgil couldn't help but grin at the text. They just admitted their feelings for each other, an already Lana is whipping out the pet names. He begins to text back.

 **Yeah, I'm about to leave now. Where U at?**

After hitting send on his phone, Virgil reaches the exit and opens the door, only to find a certain brunette girl waiting for him. Lana wears a simple pink hairband over her head, a pink T-shirt that says in black letters, "Don't hate me cuz I'm beautiful", black denim shorts and pink converses.

Virgil's new girlfriend looks up from her phone and smiles, "Hey."

Virgil smiles back, "Sup."

Moments later, the two of them are now in a private corner of the campus making out.

Lana was the first to break the kiss and she says, "You know, if you keep this up, I may actually forget the real reason why I came here."

Virgil raises an eyebrow and says, "What, it wasn't just because you missed this handsome face?"

"Mmm, okay, that may be part of it, but the other reason…" She then reaches inside her backpack and pulls out a piece of paper. But it wasn't just any piece of paper, it was yesterday's Calculus test. The top part of the paper had "B+" written in red marker.

Virgil sees this and begins to grab Lana by the waist, lifts her up in the air and spin her around.

The brunette girl squeals and laughs at the sudden action.

When Virgil puts her down, he says, "Look at you, guess you don't have to worry about failing now."

Lana looks to side a brushes a lock of hair behind her ear, "Well I do have the best tutor."

"Girl, give yourself SOME credit. You're not as dumb as you think you are."

Lana just smiles warmly.

Then Virgil asks, "Say, you know about the fall formal coming up?"

"Gee, I had no idea, what with the school being bombarded with flyers advertising it."

"Cute, anyway, I was wondering if…well…if you want to go with me. I mean, we still have to go on a real date, figured this would be the perfect time to do it."

Lana blinks at Virgil's offer. She's never been to a school dance before, and the fact that her new boyfriend had just asked to take her to one gave her butterflies in her stomach.

After a few seconds Virgil turns his head and says, "If you don't want to go, that's cool. We can always do something else."

Then the electric hero feels someone grab his hand. He turns around and sees his girlfriend with a bright smile on her face.

"Of course I'll go to the dance with you Virgil."

Virgil's smile returns, "Cool."

Lana nods, then her smile becomes more flirtatious, "Now, where were we?"

Virgil chuckles and the two continue to make out.

* * *

 **Inside an apartment in Upper Manhattan…**

Adam is sitting on the couch in his living room, typing in his laptop yet another song. These last couple of weeks have been…strange to say the least. That explosion he witnessed last night is still on his mind. He remembers passing out and waking up in the hospital the next day. After reuniting with his girlfriend, Sharon Hawkins, the music producer was given the go-ahead to leave the hospital, since there wasn't anything wrong with him…at least that's what he thought. Adam closes his laptop and…here's the strange part…his arm begins to stretch at an incredible length and he places the object down on a table, five feet from where he was sitting. Adam remembers the first time he discovered his newfound ability to stretch his body. One minute he was waking up from a good night's sleep, his lovely girlfriend sleeping next to him, and as soon as he gets up and walks towards the bathroom, he notices his left arm was still underneath a sleeping Sharon, and was stretched out like a rubberband. His eyes widened at this, and he did everything in his power to not freak out, wake his girlfriend and then have her freak out.

After days of trying to figure out how he got these powers, it wasn't until he read an article in the newspaper about something called "The Big Bang" that the music producer realized it was, in fact, the explosion he witnessed the other night that changed him somehow, and apparently he was not alone, that explosion changed a lot of people. With a clear idea on what's happened to him, Adam now has no idea what to do with these new changes in his life. He then decided to just ignore the fact that he's basically Elongated Man 2.0 and go on with his normal life, making music. He didn't even tell anyone about what he can do, not even Sharon. It's not like he was dying or anything, so to him it's not really that important.

Suddenly, the door begins to open and Sharon walks in with her backpack in hand, obviously done with her classes for the day. Adam sees his girlfriend and just smiles.

He has been with her for two years, and it seems like it was just yesterday when they first met. The music producer was at the Coffee Bean working on a new song when he saw Sharon sitting across from him, reading a textbook. Moments later, Adam looks up again and sees that the young woman was already leaving the café, then something unexpected happens. A random male rushes towards Sharon and grabs her purse as soon as he passes her. Adam saw the whole thing and runs outside to catch the thief. He was able to catch up to the purse snatcher and immediately tackles him. The music producer grabs the thief by the back of his Knicks jersey and threatens him to give back the purse. The thief complies and runs away with fear in his eyes. Upon getting her purse back, Sharon thanks Adam. This lead to some introductions and talking a bit about themselves. Sharon sadly had to cut the conversation short since she had to attend class, to which Adam offered her a chance to finish their conversation over pizza, to which the young woman agrees.

The two started to hang out more and more, and what started as a simple friendship turned into something more serious. They have been inseparable ever since. Since ESU can be pretty ridiculous when it comes to housing costs, Adam offered Sharon to live with him at his apartment. It took some convincing…especially from her father…but she accepted the offer. Since Sharon had a part-time job at a diner just a block from where they live, she had no problem helping Adam pay the rent. Seeing his girlfriend walk through the door, the music producer couldn't help but feel at peace. It's like whatever demons he had to deal with in his life, whether it's big wigs rejecting his music or dealing with his brother and his criminal activities, all it takes is a bright smile from one Sharon Hawkins and all of his worries disappear instantly.

"Hey babe," Adam greets. "How was your day?"

"Eh, same old same old," Sharon shrugs. She approaches her boyfriend and gives him a peck on the lips. "I see you're feeling better."

"Ever since I left the hospital, it's been a rough week. But yeah, I'm doing fine now. Sorry I couldn't make it to the family dinner. I know how much that means to you."

"Don't worry about it boo, you had just got out of the hospital at that point and I wasn't gonna force you to go if you weren't at 100%."

"So, how did it go? You know, spending time with your pops and all."

"Same as always, Dad going on about how these metahumans are threatening the neighborhood and that Static showing up isn't helping matters. Oh, but I finally got to meet Virgil's new lady friend."

This intrigued the music producer, "Oh?"

"Yeah, some white girl who got into some trouble with the law."

"And your dad's cool with your brother hanging out with her…The part about her being in trouble with the law I mean?"

"I wouldn't worry too much about that. I got the chance to talk to her, and from the looks of it, it REALLY seems like she wants to turn over a new leaf. My dad is even helping her with community service."

"Man, if only more people were more like her, actually going out of their way to do something better with their lives. My brother could learn a thing or two from her."

Sharon approaches Adam from behind the couch and she begins to rub his shoulders, "He chose his path, you chose yours. I gotta get started on my homework. Maybe when I'm done, we can, I don't know, do something to make you forget ALL about your brother."

Adam looks over his shoulder at his girlfriend with wide eyes, getting an idea on what exactly she's alluding to, "Like?"

"That's for me to know and for you to find out," Sharon says as she taps her boyfriend in the nose. She then leaves for her personal study room.

After watching his girlfriend leave the room, Adam decides to watch some TV. With a simple press of the remote he turns it on and what he saw, and heard, outraged him. On the TV was a live performance on some Hip Hop show by a famous rapper who goes by the name "Ice Pack". The song that is being performed, the music producer recognizes it immediately. It was a song HE wrote. He pitched this song to a record label roughly a month ago, only to be rejected, yet here it is making airwaves on TV and possibly on the radio, and Adam isn't getting a single dime for it. He looks on in anger as Ice Pack is being interviewed about his new album. Adam grinds his teeth in anger. How dare he use a song that he wrote without his permission AND take full credit for it to boot. Adam knew that he needed to find this plagiarizer, and have a few words with him. Sure enough, Ice Pack reveals that he will be signing autographs at a local mall in Brooklyn. To which the music producer says, "You can bet your ass I'll be there. Thinking you can take all the credit for MY song? You messed with the wrong guy."

* * *

 **At a local mall in Brooklyn (The next day)**

"I cannot believe you brought me here," Virgil says as he looks on at Ice Pack signing autographs.

"You don't like Ice Pack?" asks Lana.

"Honestly, aside from that one song he performed last night, I think most of his music is whack. I'm more of a Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino type of guy."

Lana rolls her eyes, "Whatever, I think his music is great."

"Hey, you do you girl, I just don't think he's that great is all."

"Well if you're not to fan, why did you come?"

Virgil now smiles, "Because rule number one when it comes to relationships: If your girl wants to go someplace, doesn't matter if you don't want to go, you take her. It just shows how much you want to see her happy."

The brunette girl's eyes widened for a moment, then she smiles and gives her boyfriend a peck on the cheek, "Well that's very sweet of you."

The electric meta rolls his eyes but keeps smiling, "Yeah, yeah." Virgil then looks to the side and sees a familiar face storming over to Ice Pack's direction, "Hey, I know him."

Lana then looks to where Virgil is looking, "Who is he?"

"That's my sister's boyfriend."

"The music producer? Well from the looks of it, he doesn't look like he's in the mood to say hi to you."

"You're right, he looks straight up pissed. I wonder what's up?"

As soon as Adam cuts thorough the line and finally approaches Ice Pack, Virgil was about to get his answer.

The rapper looks up at Adam, lowers his shades and raises his left eyebrow, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, actually," Adam replies. "I've got a bone to pick with you."

"Look man, if you're not here for an autograph, I'm gonna have to ask you to bounce. You're holding up the line."

"Your new single, "Cruisin' All Night", that was MY song. I wrote it."

Ice Pack give a confused look, "The hell are you talking about?"

"Don't bullshit me man, I pitched that song to your record label months ago and they rejected it, and then I see you performing that exact same song on BET last night. So do you want to explain to me what's up with that, and why I'm not getting a goddamn dime out of it?"

"Security get this fool out of here."

Three big men in suits appear and grab Adam by both of his arms.

As they drag the music producer away, he yells, "This ain't over, you just made a big mistake."

* * *

Adam and Sharon are now sitting together on the couch discussing what just happened today. The ESU student found out about the Ice Pack debacle through her brother, and she was outraged.

"Unbelievable, that was a song YOU wrote, and he's just gonna go on and take all the credit?"

The music producer sighs, "Yeah, he even acted like he had no idea what I was talking about either."

"That's some bull. You should sue his ass."

"I can, but somebody had to have given him that song, and I want to know who."

Sharon then grabs Adam's hand and leans into his shoulder earning a smile from her boyfriend. She then gets up from the couch, "I gotta get ready for work. You think you'll be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah, you don't have to worry about me."

Sharon then gives Adam a goodbye kiss, grabs her things and then walks out the door.

Once she was gone, Adam's face gets serious again. He then stretches his arm out and grabs his laptop. He opens it up, goes to an arts and crafts website and begins to order some type of purple rubbery material.

"Alright Ice Pack, I guess I'm gonna have to make you talk."

* * *

 _ **(A/N) Virgil is of course referring to the last chapter, but if you really want to know what's wrong with Kara, read chapters 14-18 of Hope and Responsibility.**_

* * *

 _ **That's right folks, you are witnessing the birth of the Rubberband Man. Be here next chapter when Static has to defend Ice Pack from this new Bang Baby.**_

 _ **Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**_This was originally supposed to come out a week ago, but I got sidetracked. If Mega Man 11 wasn't kicking my ass, then I was busy playing the Black Cat DLC from Spider-Man PS4. Anyway, here it is, the first appearance of the Rubberband Man, as well as Static and Bombshell's first encounter with him._**

Chapter 6

 **Brooklyn, NY**

Ice Pack rides through town in his limo listening to his hit new single along with two other people. One was an African American woman with hazel eyes and short brown hair, and the other was a man of the same ethnicity, wearing a do-rag and sunglasses.

The woman decides to congratulate the rapper on his new song, "This is my favorite record ever Ice, you really ARE a musical genius."

"I always thought I had mad skills," Ice Pack brags. "I just had to figure out a way to bring it to the people, you know?"

Meanwhile the driver sees something on the rearview mirror, "Uh, sir? I think we're being followed."

Ice Pack lowers his sunglasses at the driver, "Then lose em."

"I…think you need to take a look at this."

The rapper begins to look behind him, and heading towards them was what looks to be a rubber ball with a man's face on it bouncing towards them.

"Shit, it's one of those Bang Baby's. Floor it."

The driver does what Ice pack tells him and begins to speed up. The rubber ball then takes the form of a man who's legs have taken the shape of giant springs, and proceeds to chase after the vehicle.

* * *

 **Meanwhile...**

Virgil and Lana are walking from the library where they were doing homework together. As they walk across the street Virgil starts to rub his right shoulder while creaking his neck a bit.

Lana notices this right away, "What's wrong?"

The electric meta looks over at his girlfriend, "Wha…oh, it's nothing really. I guess I'm still a little sore from our fight with evil Kara." _**(A/N)**_ That thunderclap of hers REALLY knocked the wind out of me."

"Poor baby," Lana coos. "Here, move your hand."

Virgil does what she says and the brunette girl proceeds to massage both of his shoulders.

"Mmm, that feels nice actually. You should probably get a career as a masseuse."

The brunette girl removes her hands, "There, all better?"

Virgil moves his shoulder around for a bit, "Yeah, thanks."

Lana waves it off, "Eh, no biggie. It's just something my grandma taught me. She used to work at a grocery store in her younger years where she had to do some heavy lifting. Her mom would give her a shoulder massage every night when she came home."

"Speaking of moms, you ever plan on visiting yours at Rykers?"

Lana scowls at the question, "Not in a million years."

"I take it she won't be nominated for mother of the year anytime soon, huh?"

"Or ever, all she ever cares about is herself, she never cared about me or what I want. She's only interested in what I can do and how it can benefit her."

Virgil gives his girlfriend a sympathetic look, "I…I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

"It's okay. You know, every time I hear you talk about your mom, I can't help but think about how lucky you were to have someone like her in your life…If only MY mom was like that."

Virgil hugs Lana, "Well you don't have to worry about her hurting you anymore. And if she ever gets out and tries to force you into doing something you don't want to do, then she's gonna have to deal with me first."

The brunette girl smiles and hugs her boyfriend back, "God, what did I ever do to deserve you?"

The electric meta smiles back, "By being you."

The two teens look at each other for a moment and then share a brief kiss, but their little moment was immediately interrupted by a white limo speeding past them, and what looks like a man in a purple suit and stretched out limbs running after it.

Lana raises an eyebrow and says, "Well there's something you don't see everyday."

"You got that right."

With that, the two rush to a nearby alley to suit up.

* * *

The man in the rubber suit continues to chase after the limo. He eventually catches up and jumps in front of it. The meta then stretches his limbs and wraps them around the left and right street post. When the limo approaches him, his elastic body was able to stop the vehicle and send it hurtling into the air. Static, who had been following the meta, finally decides to step in and he uses his electromagnetic abilities to stop the limo in mid-air and sets it down gently. He then looks at the mysterious figure and his eyes widened.

 _"Oh my God, that's Sharon's boyfriend. He's a bang baby?"_

Adam sees Static and scowls, "Static, right? Look man, I've got no beef with you. So do yourself a favor and stay out of my way."

He then forms into a rubber ball and bounces towards his target. That was when Bombshell steps in front of him.

"That's as far as you go, you human silly putty."

"And you must be Bomb-Girl."

"It's Bomb-shell."

As Static (still in shock by the fact that this is Adam) lands beside his girlfriend, the brunette girl continues, "You mind telling us what your problem is with these people?"

"The punk inside stole from me."

"And you think THIS is the way to solve the problem? Dude, why don't we just sit down and talk about this?"

"I've tried everything. Now I'm not gonna tell you again, get out of my way."

Static sees Adam raising his fist and he pushes Bombshell out of the way, "LOOK OUT." He then takes the punch in her place. Bombshell, who is now on the ground sees her boyfriend getting knocked down as well,

"STATIC." The electric meta begins to get up, "I'm fine. Okay super ball, now it's my turn."

Static's right hand begins to form an electric current and he delivers a massive right hook to Adam's face. Adam's neck stretches back from the sheer force of the blow but immediately snaps back into place.

"Nice shot sparky," he then says with a smirk. "But rubber is an insulator, so your electrical powers can't hurt me."

Suddenly the limo begins to move again and tries to get away from the fight that was occurring.

"Not so fast," Adam says as he stretches his arm out and grabs the vehicle's bumper.

Static sees this and begins to charge up his fists even further, "Let me tell you something about electricity. A big enough charge can overload ANY insulator."

He then releases a massive electric charge that knocks the elastic meta back, forcing him to let go of the limo, where the vehicle makes a successful getaway. Unfortunately, that last blow took a lot out of Static and he begins to fall to his knees in exhaustion. However, Adam immediately gets up from the younger meta's attack and he is not happy.

Static sees this and sighs, "And unfortunately, that wasn't enough."

Adam's fist then forms a hammer and he uses it to knock Static into a nearby street post where the electric meta falls to the ground, barely conscious.

Just when the older meta was about to deal the final blow another voice calls out to him, "Hey Laffy Taffy Man."

He turns around and sees Bombshell in a fighting stance, fist glowing bright yellow.

"You may be immune to electricity, but let's see how you handle a regular blast."

She then fires two energy blasts from each of her hands and they hit Adam directly in his chest. However, his torso begins to stretch backwards and as soon as it snaps back into place, it sends Bombshell's blast right back at her.

"SHIT," she yells as she jumps out of the way.

But the blast hits a nearby blue convertible, causing it to explode. Bombshell was in range of the blast and the shockwave sends her flying a couple feet. She too falls to the ground.

Adam looks at the two young metas he had just laid waste to and then sighs, "I don't have time for this."

With that, he begins to spring away.

Static watches Adam leave and thought, _"Man, Sharon is gonna trip when she finds out about this. IF she ever finds out. And I was really starting to like the dude too."_ Then he realizes something. "Lana." Static rushes over to his girlfriend who remains motionless on the ground.

"Bombshell, Bombshell are you okay? Please be okay."

The brunette girl groans, "Anyone get the number of that car that blew up in my face?"

Static breathes a sigh of relief and then chuckles at his girlfriend's quip. He then looks on in the distance, "Looks like Adam is long gone. Hopefully that limo was able to get far enough away that he won't be able to catch up."

Bombshell perks up at what her boyfriend called the meta, "Adam? You mean your sister's boyfriend? He's a bang baby?"

"And I'm willing to bet the person inside the limo was Ice Pack. I'm guessing he's still mad that he took his song."

"Ice Pack was in that limo? Damn, and I didn't get the chance to ask for his autograph."

Static rolls his eyes.

* * *

 **Queens, NY**

"Alright Pete, I give up, what are we doing here?" Virgil asks as he and his friend approach an abandoned gas station.

Peter finally explains himself, "Well, Kara and I talked about this and we figured, since we kinda have our own superhero team with you, Lana, Ty, Tandy…and maybe Courtney if she's up for it…that maybe we should have our own base of operations. You know, kinda like how the League has the moon base and the Titans have their tower."

"And an old, run-down gas station is the best you can come up with?"

"Hey, I may be well acquainted with Bruce Wayne but that doesn't mean I inherited his money. Besides, gotta make do with what we got right? Think of this as our little hangout in case we have to deal with something that requires all of us to participate. Kara was kind enough to help me move all of my lab equipment here."

"Well…if you put it that way…that doesn't sound like a bad idea. I mean, with the Meta-Breed and Spider Slayers trying to kill us on a daily basis, it helps when we can be able to call for back up."

Once the two boys are inside, Virgil begins to tell Peter about his run-in with Adam.

"So that elastic guy was your sister's boyfriend?" asks Peter.

Virgil nods, "Yeah, crazy right? He went after Ice Pack because he thought he plagiarized his music. If I wasn't there to stop him, he probably would have done something stupid."

The spider hero then pulls out a CatCo. magazine from his backpack, "Well, your little scuffle with Plastic Man V2 is one CatCo.'s most prominent articles. Lucky for you, the photographer who took photos of the fight sucks, so both of your faces came out blurry. Which means our stretchy man can breathe a sigh of relief of anyone recognizing him."

Virgil takes the magazine from Peter's hand and reads the headline, "The Rubberband Man's assassination attempt foiled by Static and Bombshell." He then looks up at his friend with a raised eyebrow, "The Rubberband Man? For real? Like the song?"

Peter shrugs, "Ms. Grant's a huge fan of that song. Chloe once told me she caught her grooving to that song in her office during late nights when she thought no one was watching her."

"Yeah, well, it's a fitting name, since the guy is immune to my electric powers. There was no way I could hurt him without running out of juice. Lana and I took a massive L because of it. I can't believe even with these new powers of mine, I STILL feel helpless. Maybe I'm not cut out to be a hero after all…"

With that Peter chuckles.

To which Virgil gives him a deadpanned look, "I'm glad you find my dilemma funny."

"No, no, it's just…what you're feeling right now, I've been there. As soon as you become a superhero, and you feel like you're getting the hang of it, you feel unstoppable. Until that one random bad guy comes along and gives you a massive wake up call. Believe me that was something I had to experience multiple times, and each time I remember something my uncle once told me. He said that the only way to truly fail is to give up. As long as you keep trying, and give it your all, you can overcome any obstacle. So there's a guy out there that you can't hurt with your powers. If I were you, I should probably look for some kind of alternative on how to beat him. You're a smart guy Virg, I know you'll think of something."

After several seconds of silence, the electric meta finally smiles, "Thanks Pete."

The spider hero smiles back, "It's what I'm here for. Oh, before I forget…" He then moves over to his lab table and picks up a sickle shaped object.

Peter hands the object over to Virgil to which the other boy asks, "What's this?"

"You see that small button?" Peter asks as he points to said button. "Push it."

Virgil sees the button his friend mentions and does what he is told. The sickle shaped object begins to circle around itself, forming a large disc in the process. Virgil's face went from confusion to wonder.

Peter explains, "I notice how you use trash can lids and manhole covers as your mode of transportation. No offense, but I always thought that looked a little, well you know, tacky. So I decided to make you this retractable disc that you can use. It's lighter, slimmer and you can carry it anywhere. If you're gonna go knock some sense into your sister's boyfriend, why not do it in style?"

Virgil continues to look at the disc and whistles, "This looks dope Pete, thanks."

"No problem man, and let me know when another supervillain is kicking your butt. I'll be happy to give you more advice."

* * *

 **Ice Pack's penthouse, Manhattan, NY**

 _"Ice, seriously man, maybe we should cancel the concert. What if that rubber-guy shows up to try and kill you again?"_

The rapper is sitting on the couch, talking to his agent on the phone. The two are arguing over whether or not Ice Pack should cancel the upcoming concert.

"And I say bring him on," Ice Pack answers. "We put a lot of money and work into this, I'm not about to let some brotha in purple spandex ruin it."

Suddenly there's a knock on the door. Ice Pack gets up from his couch to open it. When he looks outside, he doesn't see anyone. He then looks down and sees a purple rubber ball on the floor. The rapper picks it up, closes the door and walks back to his couch, bouncing the ball along the way.

"Look man, just make sure security is tight. This show is happening no matter what. I ain't about to let some bang baby with stretchy powers scare me like he's the boogeyman or something."

With that, Ice Pack ends the call. He looks back down at the rubber ball, wondering where it came from.

Then suddenly, the Rubberband Man's face begins to appear, "Boo."

Ice Pack gets startled and drops the ball, which begins to shapeshift and take the form of the bang baby who attacked him the other night.

"Sup Ice, we have some unfinished business."

* * *

Meanwhile, Static and Bombshell are flying through the Manhattan skylight, making their way to Ice Pack's penthouse.

"You think Ice Pack will let us help him?" the brunette girl asks as she hangs on to her boyfriend.

"He better," Static answers. "Because I doubt his bodyguards would stand a chance against a guy who can turn his hand into a wrecking ball. Besides, we also need to help Adam from getting in any real trouble. It's a good thing Peter and Kara know someone who's a journalist. She was able to help us dig some dirt on who REALLY stole Rubberband Man's music. Now we just need to find him so we can reason with him."

As they approach the penthouse, Bombshell looks inside the balcony window with wide eyes, "Uh, Virgil? I don't think finding him will be a problem."

Static looks inside as well and he narrows his eyes.

* * *

Ice Pack begins to back away from Rubberband Man and eventually he trips and falls on his rear, "Look man, what do you want from me? Money? Fine just take it, I've got plenty."

"I don't want your money," the elastic meta responds. "I want to know where you got that new song from."

That was when the rapper realizes something, "Oh shit, you're that guy from the autograph signing. Look, I'm sorry if I took your song alright? If it makes you feel any better, I didn't come up with it myself, someone gave it to me. If anything, you should take it up with him. I'm just a guy who likes to entertain."

Rubberband Man picks up Ice Pack by the collar and lifts him up in the air "You got my song from someone else? Who?"

"Maybe if you put him down, he'll answer you."

Rubberband Man looks behind him and sees Static and Bombshell standing near the doorway to the balcony. The man in purple takes the rapper and hangs him on a deer head wall mount.

He then turns to the two younger metas, "Back for another ass whoopin' huh?"

"We were unprepared last time you walking condom," says Bombshell. "I promise you that won't happen again."

Rubberband Man gets into a fighting stance, "Alright little girl, how about we put your money where your filthy mouth is? You two are gonna regret trying to mess with me."

Static and Bombshell also get into fighting stances as they prepare for yet another fight.

* * *

 _ **(A/N) He's of course talking about the epic fight against Dark Supergirl in chapter 18 of Hope and Responsibility.**_

* * *

 _ **Looks like our heroes are ready for round 2, but what trick do they have up their sleeve? How is Static able to beat a foe that he can't even hurt? Find out in the next chapter.**_

 _ **Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time...**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**So, after suffering from major writer's block, I'm finally back with the conclusion of this arc.**_

Chapter 7

 **Ice Pack's Penthouse, Manhattan, NY**

"I guess you didn't learn from the last beatdown I gave you," Rubberband Man says with a scowl.

Static smirks, "I'm not the type of person who gives up so easily after one minor setback."

"And like I said, you got lucky last time," says Bombshell.

"I'm giving the two of you one last chance to get the hell out of here, or you're gonna hate what happens next."

Meanwhile, Static has his right hand inside his jacket pocket, waiting for the elastic metahuman to make his move. "Do your worst Play-Doh."

Rubberband Man stretches his body and lunges at the two younger metas, but as he does this, Static pulls out a small capsule from his pocket and throws it at the super-powered record producer. The capsule latches on to Rubberband Man and it explodes, covering his entire body, save for his head, in a sheet of ice.

"Aah, what the hell?" he says as he tries to move, but it hurts when he does so.

"How about another science lesson Rubberband Man," Static says with a grin on his face. "Chemistry 101. What happens to rubber when it's super cold?"

"H…How?" the elastic meta now asks.

"Funny thing, I have a friend who is pretty tight with a certain bat who lives in Gotham. Gave him a suit that came with some of his usual bells and whistles. That includes that ice capsule I just threw at you, which is made from the same tech as Mr. Freeze's freeze gun. Now my friend, he's a genius in his own right. He was able to look into the design of these capsules, in which he was able to replicate it, therefore he could make more of them. I told him about our last fight and asked if I could borrow some. So, you still think I haven't learned my lesson?"

Rubberband Man continues to struggle, until he eventually gives up. Still cold from being covered in ice he speaks, "L…l…ook man, y…y…you don't understand. That s…s…song Ice Pack stole, it means something to me. Music has always b…b…been a part of my life. T…t…to have it stolen from me is like taking away a part of myself. Th…th…that was my life's work."

Static's face softens from the elastic meta's words, "And you think going in and attacking people is the only way to solve this problem? Better yet, here's another question, do you have someone you care about back home? How do you think that person would feel if he or she saw you right now?"

It was at that moment Rubberband Man realizes that the younger meta was right. If Sharon were to see him now, attacking a well-known rapper in his own home, she would not approve of any of this. All his life, Adam kept saying to himself that he wasn't going to take the same path his brother took, that he was his own man. By going on this warpath, this makes him no different from Ivan, and that is not the man Sharon fell in love with.

With that, he sighs, "Alright kid, you got a point, but I'm not gonna just let whoever stole my music get off scott-free. He needs to be brought down…hard."

"Then let us help you," says Static. "That friend I talked about earlier? He has friends who work for the police and the press. Both of them were able to do some digging and find out who exactly stole your music."

Bombshell cuts in, "Do you know who Marcus Young is?"

Rubberband Man nods, "Yeah, I was trying to get an exclusivity deal with his record label a few months ago. I sent out a few demos to prove I was legit. They never did contact me." That was when the elastic meta realizes something, and he facepalms, "Son of a…"

"Marcus Young is also Ice Pack's producer," Static points out then turns to the rapper. "Am I right?"

Ice Pack, who is still suspended in mid-air thanks to the deer head wall mount, nods, "That's right. He gave me the demo and I just rolled with it, didn't ask any questions or nothin'."

"And guess what," Bombshell chimes in. "You're not the only musician he's fucked over. There's an entire backlog of songs that he has stolen from them, as well as royalties he refuses to pay and a whole bunch of other shady business practices that would surely get his ass locked up for a long time."

"We're willing to help you, but you need to leave Ice Pack alone," Static finishes. "He's got nothing to do with this."

"He's right man," says the rapper. "I'm just an entertainer. Look, I'm sorry if that was your music he stole. If you let me go, I promise I'll make it up to you."

Rubberband Man looks up at Ice Pack for a second and then sighs, "Alright S…S…Static, we'll do it your way. N…n…now can you get me out of th…th…this?"

Bombshell cracks her knuckles, "Sure thing." She then raises her finger, and in seconds, the ice breaks and Rubberband Man is free.

"Alright, now I think it's time we have a little chat with Mr. Young."

But before the elastic meta could leave, Static says, "Uh, aren't you forgetting something?"

Rubberband Man looks up to where the younger meta is pointing and sees that Ice Pack is still hung up. He reaches up to him and pulls him down.

As the rapper brushes himself off, Rubberband Man apologizes, "Sorry about that man, it's just my music means so much to me."

Ice Pack puts his hand up, "It's cool man. Ice Pack is a lot of things, but he ain't no plagiarizer. When you see Marcus, tell him I'm ending our record deal. But I'd be careful though, he's a very dangerous dude, got a lot of connections."

"We'll be sure to watch out," says Static.

"Ooh, before we go…" Bombshell says as she walks up to Ice Pack. She then reaches into her pocket and pull out a small picture of the rapper and a sharpie. "Can I have your autograph? I'm a huge fan."

Static facepalms and groans while Rubberband Man raises an eyebrow.

* * *

Marcus Young, clad in a white jacket with a leopard fur collar, a white top hat and a fancy dark suit underneath, sits comfortably on the couch in the enormous living room of his condo. He watches a news report of Ice Pack's limo being attacked by the Rubberband Man. When being asked about the assault, Ice Pack's agent, as well as the rapper himself, both state that it was all just one big promotion for his new album. Marcus wasn't fooled by this one bit.

"Damn man, if those Bang Babies are coming after Ice, it's only a matter of time until they come knocking on my door. Don't matter, if that freak ever show up I got something waiting for him."

Suddenly two bodyguards are sent flying through the door, and are now lying on the ground unconscious. Static, Bombshell and Rubberband Man all emerge through the broken down doorway.

As three more bodyguards show up, Marcus stops them, "Whoa, whoa, hold up guys." The producer walks forward to get a good look at his intruders. He immediately recognizes one of the three metas, "Adam Evans, I've heard a lot about you. You are a very talented man. When my colleague played me some of your tracks, I just HAD to have them."

"So you stole them," the elastic meta confirms with an angry look on his face.

"Nothing personal Adam, I'm in the music business. It's the way we do things, but you're too tough to cheat. I'll see to it you get credit on the next pressing, I'll even give you your royalties."

"Cool, while you're at it, you can also give royalties to the other musicians whose music you stole from."

"Sure, sure, but first, I like you to meet some friends of mine. MONTANA, OX, FANCY DAN!"

Emerging from the living room were three men in high tech suits. _**(A/N)**_

One of the three men, who is wearing a yellow quilted suit and gauntlets, was the first to speak, "For the last time Young, I don't go by Montana anymore, it's Shocker."

Marcus raises and eyebrow, "But isn't there a guy who already goes by that name?"

Montana grits his teeth underneath his mask, "Don't you dare compare me to that phony. If I ever see him, he's gonna think twice before he tries ripping me off again."

"But boss," Ox interjects. "Didn't that guy used to work for OSCORP?"

"Yeah, and wasn't he the one who designed your suit and equipment?" Fancy Dan then asks.

"That still doesn't give him the right to take my moniker. At least I actually beat Spider-Man at some point. That guy couldn't even last more than three seconds with him. It's embarrassing."

"If you're done ranting," Marcus interrupts. "I've got some uninvited guests. If you could be so kind as to…show them some hospitality."

Shocker sighs and then powers up his gauntlets, "You want us to take care of these intruding rascals? You got it. The Big Man didn't hire us as your personal attack dogs for nothing."

"No he did not, I'm off to get a Big Belly Burger, they better not still be here when I get back." Marcus exits his condo.

As the Enforcers and the three metas stare each other down, Static says, "I guess Ice Pack wasn't lying when he said, Young had connections."

Shocker looks directly at the electric meta, "Ah, so you must be the new sheriff in town. Static was it?"

"Yeah, what of it?"

"You made quite a name for yourself in Brooklyn. The way you rounded up that metahuman group caught the attention of the Big Man. While he's busy figuring out how to squash the bug for good, he's had his eye on you for a while now."

"Good to know I left such an impact."

"Yeah, well, after the bug, The Big Man didn't want to take any chances with any up and coming "heroes". So I'm sure he'll be pretty pleased when he finds out that I did what that Ebon fella couldn't."

"Alright Quilt-Man," Bombshell cuts in as her hands start to glow. "Let's see what you got."

Static, Bombshell and Rubberband Man engage the Enforcers. Static goes after Fancy Dan, Bombshell squares off against Montana/Shocker and Rubberband Man fights Ox. Static fires electric bolts at Fancy Dan who is ricocheting off the walls. He was bouncing around so fast that the electric meta couldn't get a clear shot of him. Fancy Dan then flies into Static, knocking him off of his saucer.

" _Man this guy is working my nerves,"_ the electric meta thought as he lies on the ground. _"His suit must be storing some form of kinetic energy. If I could somehow use that against him…"_

As Static gets back up, he begins to build up massive amounts of electricity. Fancy Dan makes another beeline towards his foe. However, as soon as he was in close proximity, Static releases an electric charge that not only stops Fancy Dan in mid-air, but it also electrocutes him and renders him unconscious.

"Note to self, never bad mouth static electricity ever again," Static says to himself.

Meanwhile, Bombshell and Shocker are trading shockwaves. The brunette girl had to admit, he actually puts up more of a fight than the other one.

"You're out of your depth little girl," the yellow and brown clad, criminal says. "Go home while you still have a chance."

Shocker fires another blast from his gauntlets and Bombshell rolls out of the way. However, Shocker predicted where the young meta was going next, and he fires a shockwave right in her direction. Bombshell flies backwards and skids over a table.

Moments after she falls to the ground, Shocker blast the table out of the way and approaches her, "I tried to be nice kidl, now you're gonna see what happens when you get in over your head."

As he is about to deliver the final blow, Bombshell, immediately sits up and points her finger at Shocker's gauntlets, "Gotcha."

The gauntlets begin to spontaneously combust, leaving them permanently disabled.

"Ah, hell…" Shocker begins to say before getting immediately knocked back into a nearby bookshelf, courtesy of Bombshell's shockwave attack.

Upon seeing quilted clad villain's unconscious body, Bombshell says, "And now you see what happens when you underestimate me."

The brunette girl then hears someone say, "Get…offa me."

She then looks to her side and sees Rubberband Man wrapping himself around Ox. The large enforcer could barely move his arms and he waddles around the room, struggling to break free from the elastic music producer's grasp.

"Guys," Rubberband Man says to the younger metas. "A little help here?"

Static sees Ox walking near the doorway to the balcony and he gets an idea. He rushes over to his girlfriend and begins to whisper something in her ear.

Bombshell's eyes became saucers, "WHAT? ARE YOU FUCKING INSANE?"

"Girl, look at him," the electric meta says as he points at Ox. "He's a big dude, he can take it."

Bombshell sighs, "Okay, I trust you."

Static nods and then calls out to Rubberband Man, "Hey super ball, let him go."

Rubberband Man looks at Static with a look of surprise, "What? Why?"

"Just trust me on this one."

After a couple of seconds, the purple clad meta releases Ox.

"BOMBSHELL, NOW!" Static calls out.

Bombshell then releases a powerful blast that knocks Ox through the doorway and off the balcony. His screams echoed as he falls, followed by a loud crash after a few seconds. The three metahumans look down from the balcony and they see Ox lying on the pavement, the impact of his fall creating a massive crater. As Static predicted, he is not dead, just unconscious.

"Probably should have planned that better," the electric meta then says. "He could have turned an innocent bystander into a pancake."

"Hey, at least we beat them all," says Bombshell.

Rubberband Man narrows his eyes, "Yeah, but the guy that we came here for had already split. Probably already skipped town."

Static and Bombshell both look at each other with sly smiles and then look back at the older metahuman.

"Actually Adam, you don't have to worry about that?" Static reassures.

"Yeah? How so?"

"Well, see for yourself."

The music producer looks down at where Static is pointing and sees a squad of police cars. Sure enough, a group of officers are escorting a handcuffed Marcus Young out of the building.

Static explains, "As soon as we left Ice Pack's place and was on our way over here, I may have, kinda sorta, tipped the police off. Figured we have a contingency in case things go south."

Rubberband Man then smiles, "Maybe bringing you kids along wasn't such a bad idea after all." He then looks back down at Young being carted off into a police car. "I guess that's it. Myself and a whole bunch of other producers will finally get justice over what that crook did to all of us."

"So what are you going to do now?" asks Bombshell.

"I guess I can just…go back to what I know, and that's making music."

"What about the whole…?" The brunette girl extends her right arm, in a fashion similar to how Rubberband Man does it when he uses his abilities.

The elastic meta then looks down at his hands, "I guess I just have to deal with it now. I mean, being a superhero isn't really my thing, not to mention I didn't really ask for these powers. I just…want to keep living a normal life you know? And look, I know we kinda got off on the wrong foot, but you don't have to worry about me causing you any more trouble like those other Bang Babies. I appreciate you helping me take down Young. No hard feelings right?"

Static then smiles and then extends his hand, "No hard feelings."

The two metas shake hands, and Rubberband Man departs soon after, his lower half forming a spring as he bounces from rooftop to rooftop.

* * *

 **McDuffie's Pizza, Brooklyn NY (The next day)**

"So Peter and Kara couldn't make it?" Lana asks as she takes a bite out of a slice of pepperoni pizza.

Virgil begins to answer, "Kara had to work. As for Pete, he WAS with one of the Green Lanterns watching the Mets play against the Coast City Angels, but then he got a call from Patty to go to the docks on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Twenty of Hammerhead's men were picking up a shipment of narcotics there, then someone rolled up and ended up killing them all." _**(**_ _ **(A/N))**_

Lana's eyes became saucers,"Was it like a rival gang who did it? Like those who belong to that Tombstone guy? Was it Ebon? Did he somehow round up a new team of Bang Babies?"

Virgil shakes his head, "Naw, it was all one dude."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah, and whoever this guy is, he REALLY wanted to make sure nobody can track him. It's like he was trained by ninjas or something."

The brunette girl nods her head, and then changes the subject, "So, I hear that shady music manager we busted is going to do some hard time. Serves him right for stealing music that someone else put their blood, sweat and tears for. Not to mention Ice Pack signed on with a brand new record label. One that is NOT so shady. Good on him."

"Yeah, and Adam and all the other producers will be getting their long overdue royalties. Man, was this what it was like when you, Peter, and Kara took down that Roxxon guy?"

"Pretty much," Lana says as she takes another bite of her pizza. "It's a shame Adam chose not to do the whole superhero thing. I thought we all made a good team."

"To be honest, I'm kinda glad that he did. That manager we bust knew who Adam was, and he had a connection with Tombstone. It's not really a good idea to play hero when the bad guys know your face and possibly your name. Peter told me what happened to his last girlfriend when something like that happened. I don't want the same thing to happen to Sharon."

The brunette girl nods and takes another bite, "I guess you're right about that. Though about Tombstone, it seems like he's starting to see us a real pain in the ass. First Ebon, now Young, we even beat the shit out of his Enforcers."

"Which means at any moment he's gonna try to come at us."

Lana takes a sip of her glass of Mountain Dew and sets it back down on the table, "Yeah, well he doesn't scare me. I dare him to come at us."

"Don't be so sure about that, Peter fought this guy one on one before and got the hell beat out of him. If a guy who has spider sense can get his ass kicked that hard, then Tombstone ain't no joke."

"Yeah? Well neither are we."

Virgil couldn't help but chuckle, "Even after everything I just said, you ain't worried in the slightest."

Lana shrugs, "My grandma says I can be really stubborn."

"Well, she's right, but you know what? I love you for it."

With that, the brunette girl gives out a wide grin and she leans forward to give her boyfriend a well-deserved kiss.

* * *

 **Adam and Sharon's apartment, Manhattan, NY**

Adam takes out his house key and unlocks the door to his apartment. After working with Queen Naija with a new song of hers, he was ready to head home and relax. After knowing that Marcus Young will be facing some serious consequences for his past actions, the music producer is the happiest he's ever been. Adam opens the door and when he arrives at the living room, he sees his girlfriend sitting on the couch, arms folded and with a serious look on her face. Adam knew that look, that's the look she always gives him whenever he is in trouble.

"Uh, hey baby, what's up?"

The ESU student doesn't say anything, instead she motions her hand over to a familiar rubber suit that is laying right beside her.

Adam sees this and sucks his teeth, _"I knew I should have thrown that thing out sooner."_

He looks back at Sharon, "I can explain…"

And that's exactly what Adam did, he tells Sharon everything. About him having powers, going after Ice Pack for stealing his music, everything.

Sharon just shakes her head, "You promised that you weren't gonna keep stuff from me anymore."

The music producer sighs, "I know, and I'm sorry. I…I didn't know how you would react if you found out that your own boyfriend is a Bang Baby."

"What, you think I was gonna freak out or something? Adam, you know I don't hate people with powers like my father does. I know there are people out there like Static and Spider-Man who want to use those powers to do the right thing. I could care less about your stretchy powers, because I know deep down you're still the man I love."

Adam takes both of Sharon's hands, "You're right baby, I should have trusted you more. It will never happen again, I swear."

The elder Hawkins sibling just smiles and gives her boyfriend a peck on the lips, "You're a good man Adam Evans, but you don't have to do everything on your own. I'm here for you."

Adam wraps his arm around Sharon and pulls her close, "Yeah, well, I've been known to not play well with others…but I'm willing to learn."

After a moment of silence Sharon says, "So are you keeping the costume."

"Nah, I already told Static that I have no interest in being a cape. Just not my thing."

"I still can't believe you actually met Static. What's he like?"

"He's cool, though nothing like how I'd imagined. I think he's about the same age as your brother."

* * *

Later that night, Adam is at a small convenience store down the street from where he lives. He takes some chocolate milk from the cooler and was about to head to the register when a man in a black beanie cap, a black, leather jacket and jeans walks right in.

A grey haired man behind the register sees this shady character walking up to him, "Can I help you?"

The man in the beanie cap pulls out a gun and points it at the guy at the register, "Yeah, give me all of your money, and I won't have to shoot you."

The grey haired man immediately obeys and begins to unlock the register.

Adam is watching the whole thing unfold, and begins to sigh.

The guy with the gun was beginning to get antsy, "Sometime today old man."

"I'm moving as fast as I…"

But before the man behind the register could finish, he hears a loud crash. He looks up and sees a giant fist in front of him. He then looks to his right and sees the window to his store completely shattered, and the guy who was holding him up earlier is now outside of the store and lying unconscious against a nearby red corvette. The fist begins to shrink down to its original size and the arm returns to the person who stretched it out in the first place. The man behind the register sees Adam approaching him, takes some money out of his wallet and sets it down on the counter.

The music producer then says with a smirk on his face, "Keep the change." And he exits the store. Adam sees some people crowding around the unconscious thug and says, "If y'all can stop being typical New Yorkers for one second, that man tried to rob that store here. Make yourself useful and call the cops." Adam opens up his chocolate milk, takes a sip of it and walks home. As he his walking and drinking his milk, he thought about what he did back there, _"Okay, I'll it admit, that actually felt good. Maybe being a cape isn't so bad after all."_

* * *

 ** _(A/N)_ ****_It's_ _their high tech suits from Spectacular Spider-Man._**

 ** _((A/N)) A little teaser for what the next big arc of Hope and Responsibility is going to be._**

* * *

 ** _Even as this arc comes to a close, don't think you've seen the last of the Rubberband Man. He will return someday._**

 ** _Now that I've finally wrapped this chapter up, I'm sure a lot of you are ready for me to get back to The World According to Peter Parker and Karen Starr and Hope and Responsibility, and I will. Like I said, earlier, I already have the next arc for the latter planned out. You'll be surprised who actually shows up._**

 ** _Be sure to leave a comment with your thoughts on the story so far. Until next time..._**


End file.
